Die Verteidiger der Menschheit
by SushiSasha244
Summary: The Clave is prejudiced, the Praetor Lupus has been corrupted- humanity is is need of new champions. Led by a fallen angel, the TMI and ID characters, plus a few OCs, become these new champions. Contains boyxboy. Rated T for violence and language. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey, guys… this shall hopefully be my NaNoWriMo project… I'll try to get the 50,000 words but seriously, no promises. Anyone who read Aftermath knows that I'm the worst updater EVER (I have half of the last chapter of that sitting on my desktop right now collecting dust right now, by the way… it'll get finished eventually). So yeah, anyways, I'll explain the basics of what's going on at the end of the chapter, to keep y'all from getting TOO lost. Oh and they are in high school, but it will not really be a high school fic :)**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, no amount of chocolate covered in rainbow glitter and sprinkles being sacrificed to the unicorn gods of writing will make TMI mine :( Sorry guys.**

_Beep beep beep! _

Alec Lightwood groaned as the blaring of his alarm clock jerked him out of his peaceful dreams. He pressed the button to shut up the stupid alarms and buried his head under a pillow, wishing that could just go back to sleep and skip school. But no… of course he couldn't. As the eldest Lightwood, it was his job to get his younger brother and sister off to school… if he didn't go, neither of them would either. So, reluctantly, he rolled out of bed and went to get Max and Izzy.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

"Magnus Bane Fell, if you do not get your glittery ass out of that bathroom within 5 seconds, bad things will happen," called Ragnor in threatening voice, "_very, very_ bad things involving your glitter and makeup."

"Chillax, Rags," Magnus replied nonchalantly, continuing the careful application of his makeup. "No need to threaten the sparkles… I won't make us late for school."

"Magnus, hun, since when the hell do I care about school? It's Iz and Cam I'm worried about… if they don't get to school in time for a snog-fest with the boyfriends, they will rip your heart out. And eat it. And then I'll be twinless!"

"I repeat- chill! Of course they won't; I'm the GBF… they love me."

Ragnor rolled his eyes in exasperation and finally decided to play his final card: "Allie'll be here soon!" he called through the wooden door.

"He will?" he shouted back, dropping his eyeshadow on the counter to clap his hands and bounce around like little kid.

"Yep, he just called… should be here in about 2 minutes."

"I'll be down in a sec!" the younger of the two practically squealed. He threw a fistful of glitter over himself then rushed out the door, dashing down the steps, taking them 2 by 2 like it was Christmas. As he ran past Ragnor in the downstairs hall, Ragnor threw up his arms, over his face.

"Gah," he gasped theatrically, "the walking disco ball effect… it's blinded me…"

Magnus ignored him as he barged past to the front door, where he proceeded to sit cross-legged on the window ledge and stare intently out the window. As he did so Camille appeared from the kitchen, with Jem and Will trailing behind her.

"Alec almost here?" she asked with an amused smirk. Magnus just nodded in reply.

"Man, next time Alec's parents drag him off on a week-long 'family bonding' vacation, you're gonna have to go with him… first bitch fits, then moping, and now you've turned into a 5 year old; this boyfriend withdrawal thing CAN'T be good for you," Will put in.

Magnus just ignored them and continued to stare at the window.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Alec hummed along with the music being blasted from his iPod speakers, in a much better mood than when he'd first woken up. Yes, Izzy was in her bitchy post-breakup mode and Max'd had a complete meltdown because he'd spilled juice on his favorite book, but they were finally in the car and on their way to pick up their friends—including his boyfriend, Magnus.

3 minutes later he pulled into the driveway. He looked down for a minute, to turn off his iPod, and when he looked back up Magnus was standing in front of the car window with his arms crossed, pouting adorably.

"Get your cute butt out of the car and come kiss your boyfriend!" he demanded, looking very much like a child throwing a temper tantrum. With a grin, Alec hopped out of the car and complied, pulling the taller teen down to his height to kiss him. Eventually Alec's hands found their way to his boyfriend's glitter-encrusted ebony hair, but when Magnus's hands slid up inside the pale teen's shirt to rest against the cool skin there, Izzy—sitting in the backseat, reapplying her eyeliner—cleared her throat pointedly.

"Okay, as hot as this is... it's not really the time! We need to get to school. Also, Allie, your little brother is back here," she called.

The two separated reluctantly, though Magnus—now glaring at his best friend—kept his arm around his boyfriend's waist. Alec just blushed.

It was at that point that Magnus's twin and three foster siblings chose to appear.

"Where's Iz?" Camille questioned, nodding a greeting to Alec

"Fixing her makeup… beware; Ian broke up with her last night." Izzy after breakups was always… interesting, to say the least.

"Aw, poor Teddy Bear," Cam said sympathetically, using her and Maggie's nickname for Izzy. "Ian is _so_ getting it today."

"Eh, no need… she'll get over it," came the muttered reply. Alec had seen enough to his little sister's breakups to know that she'd have a new boyfriend within a day.

Thankfully, Isabelle didn't hear his comment as she climbed out of the car, in all her post-breakup glory, and struck a ridiculously provocative pose. "So? How do I look?"

Will and Ragnor whistled practically simultaneously, eyes wide, and Alec gave them a protective older brother glare. Isabelle was wearing a tiny black skirt, heels that could kill and a red shirt with a PLUNGING neckline. Her makeup was flawless—dark, smoky, slightly shimmer-y eye makeup, blood red lipstick, and the perfect amount of blush. All in all, she looked immensely sexy and COMPLETELY inappropriate for school.

"Sex. On. Legs," Will said with an intense stare. He was just messing around though… he'd known Iz for YEARS and would never REALLY date her. Hopefully. In Alec's opinion, it would just be weird.

"I'd totally tap that," Ragnor agreed, ignoring Alec's venomous glare that said not to even THINK of sleeping with his baby sister. Isabelle beamed though, as Camille and Magnus rushed over to her.

"Isabelle, darling, you are so GORGEOUS! I am SO stealing that eyeliner," Magnus gushed

"And what color nail polish is that? It's amazing!" Camille added, gesturing to her friend's dark red nails.

Jem rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Okay, can we continue this conversation in the car please?" he interrupted. "We're going to be late for school!"

"Oh shit, we are… okay, everyone in the car!" Alec agreed.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

10 minutes later, they were at the elementary school to drop off Max. As Magnus watched him run into the building, book in hand, hair tousled, and looking excited for the day, he laughed. Glancing over at Alec, he asked "Are you sure that-"

"No, Magnus," Alec cut him off, "Max is NOT my younger clone, I PROMISE."

"Hmmph, if you say so…"

"I do say so."

**A/N: Okay that's it! The next chapter will be up hopefully today, and if not, then tomorrow. Now explanation time… it's just Max, Izzy, and Alec in this fic, no Jace yet. Magnus and Ragnor are twins, and they, Cam, Will, and Jem are foster siblings. They are not really AH, but sort of… all things relating to that will be explained later. And this was just a little introduction chapter… I'll try to start the plot rolling in Chapter 2. Anyways, review please! And if you notice any mistakes or have any writing tips for me, feel free to point them out :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Chapter 2! I thought that Chapter 1 sucked, but my twiny (write4evr, the bestest person ever… you should totally go check out her stories!) insists that it doesn't… review and tell me who you agree with! Please? *puppy eyes* Okay, I shall shut up now… here's part 2 :D**

"Hey, bestest boyfriend in the world… you know I love you, right?" Magnus said, looking hopefully at Alec.

"No, I am not going to do your math homework for you," Alec replied, not even looking up from the English essay he was writing. Camille, Magnus, and Alec were all sitting at one of the outdoor picnic tables, eating their lunches and working on homework due next period; Isabelle was off with her new boyfriend—an odd boy named Melilorn.

Magnus sighed and reluctantly flipped to the correct page in his textbook, stealing a mini cupcake from Camille as he did so. He munched thoughtfully on the blue Cookie Monster cake in a cup as he studied the first problem, thoughts already wandering to other things.

"I wonder where Ragnor and The Knights are," he said, looking up for a moment to scan the courtyard for them. The Knights were Jem and Will—years ago, Camille had begun calling them that due to their resemblance to two chess pieces, Will being the black knight because of his dark hair and personality, and Jem the white because of his light skin, hair, and eyes. Eventually the others had picked up on the nickname, until almost everyone began referring to the pair as The Knights.

Just then, green bolts of light erupted from the center of a mass of people on the other side of the yard. Several people cried out, and two identical voices screamed simultaneously before, suddenly, Magnus collapsed in a crumpled heap, blue sparks dancing around him.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Jem stared in horror as the boy pulled a knife out of his pocket and darted forward like a snake, slashing at Ragnor's arm with the razor-sharp blade. Jem's brother cried out in pain and then, out of nowhere, green bolts of light exploded from his fingertips, shooting towards the boy with the knife. The teen was knocked back 5 feet and thrown into a tree, where he fell and stayed still. It looked as if he had been knocked out. As this happened Ragnor let out a bloodcurdling scream. It seemed to echo and right as Ragnor, too, passed out, Jem realized that it wasn't an echo; it was two identical voices crying out at the same time. He rushed forward to where Ragnor was but was beat there by Will, who quickly grabbed a hoodie lying nearby and ripped off a strip of cloth, holding it to the injury, trying to stop the steady stream of blood that was flowing from it.

"I have him… call an ambulance!" he shouted to Jem, his eyes wild. Jem—still shell-shocked—nodded and grabbed his cellphone from his pocket, dialing 911.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

"Magnus!" Alec cried as his boyfriend collapsed. He lurched forward and caught the boy just before he hit the ground. His heart almost missed a beat as he stared at Magnus's body in his arms, the older teen laying perfectly, impossibly still—then Mags gasped and his chest began to rise and fall as he started breathing again. "Oh thank God…" Alec whispered.

"W-what just happened?" Camille gasped.

"I have no idea… he just… fainted! And… the blue sparks…"

Before he could continue, an unfamiliar girl ran over to the trio, a cellphone in her hand. "I called 911, and someone went to go get a teacher… apparently there was a fight too! Two other boys are out. One of them looked kind of like him," she said, nodding towards Magnus.

"Oh God, was he wearing eyeliner? A black and green shirt?"

"Um… I think so… he had similar hair. Spikey. But his was green."

"Shit, that's Ragnor! Camille… can you go see what's going on? Please? I-I don't want to leave Magnus…"

She nodded quickly, "Of course. I'll be right back."

True to her word, Camille was back in a few minutes, Jem by her side. "What happened to Ragnor?" Alec immediately demanded

"I have no idea…" Jem murmured, still stunned. "There was… a fight… you know Will, he was being an idiot and picked a fight with some stoner jock. Well then 3 of the stoner's friends jumped in; I was too far away to help but Ragnor got in the middle too and one of them… he pulled a knife."

"That bastard!" Camille gasped, outraged. She hadn't had time to get the full story before—she'd just known that there was a fight and Ragnor passed out.

Jem nodded then continued with his story. "He cut Ragnor's arm and… Ragnor did… something. I have no idea what, but these green lightning bolt thing appeared and I think… they came from him? They, like, attacked the guy with the knife and he just went flying and then Rags screamed and just collapsed. And I think someone else screamed…"

"That… would've been Magnus… and when he collapsed too these little blue… sparks were all over him… what the hell could they have been?" Alec asked desperately as he brushed Magnus's hair out of his eyes.

Jem shrugged. "I don't know… I just hope that the ambulance people will be here soon."

And they were… barely 5 minutes later cops and 3 ambulances appeared. Jem stayed with Ragnor and Camille with Magnus—Alec had wanted to, but he was the only one with a license so if he had stayed with Magnus, the others would've had to stay at the school. Therefore, he had to settle with staying on the phone with Camille for constant updates.

Thankfully the hospital was close by and they quickly reached it. Ragnor and Magnus were taken to examination rooms while the others all crowded into the waiting room, where a scared and worried silence settled over them. Isabelle and Camille sat cross-legged on the floor facing each other, re-doing each other's makeup—for the two of them, makeup and fashion were like therapy. Alec curled up in a chair with his iPod and a plastic cup of black coffee, Jem's eyes scanned the pages of a book of poetry without really seeing anything, and Will stared at the muted television showing the day's news.

Some people wouldn't expect them all to care about the twins so much, but some people were wrong. Camille, Jem, Will, Ragnor, and Magnus had been lucky enough to have been kept together ever snce they entered the system as young children, and because of their first foster mother's close. Almost sister-like friendship with the Lightwood parents, the children had been around each other frequently since they were around 4 or 5 years old. They were practically cousins. Somehow their friendships had survived over a decade and many instances of one pair or another dating then breaking up, and now in high school, they all loved each other like family. Because of this shared friendship they were all terrified for the twins.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

2 hours later a nurse came to tell them that two of them could come back and visit Ragnor and Magnus—and that the doctor had a few questions for them. They'd been expecting this and it had already been decided that Alec and Jem would go; Alec because of Magnus and Jem because he'd witnessed the whole fight.

They followed the red-headed nurse, whose nametag identified her as Nelly, through the antiseptic-y smelling hallways to a room off at the very back of the building. There were two hospital beds in it, and lying in the beds were the twins. Both looked pale and were hooked up to IVs; their eyes were closed and they seemed to be still unconscious. There was a doctor there too, in his mid-fifties, with graying hair and glasses. "What's wrong with them?" Alec asked anxiously, "Will they be ok?"

"We… are unsure. The elder Mr. Fell's arm has been bandaged and should heal up okay, but their other symptoms are… not unlike those caused by being struck by lightning. What exactly happened to them?"

"There was a fight with a boy from school—the other boy who was injured. He attacked Ragnor with the knife, then this green light came from Ragnor and… they literally threw the knife guy—"

"David. His name is David," the nurse put in.

"Okay, the lights sent David flying back, and Ragnor passed out. At, like, we think the same time Magnus just randomly passed out too and these blue sparks appeared around him." Jem explained.

A troubled look appeared on the doctor's face. "That shouldn't be possible… they'll have to stay here over night for more testing; tomorrow I will reassess the situation."

"They will be ok, though?"

"They should be, but we will not know until they awaken—which should be within the next few hours. Your other friends may come back two at a time if they wish, but no more than 3 visitors at a time, max… okay? Nelly will check in every 30 minutes or so."

The two boys nodded, and the doctor—after jotting down a few words on his clipboard—left. Nelly gave them a quick smile, then hurried after him. The boys followed out the door a moment later, to tell the others the news.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Half an hour later, once all explanations were over and everyone had had a chance to see Ragnor and Magnus, Alec sunk into a chair in the waiting room. They had decided to take 1-hour shifts staying with the twins and Isabelle and Jem had taken the first one, leaving the others with nothing to do but wait. As he pulled out his iPod and stuck the earbuds in his ears, he sighed mentally—it was going to be a long few hours.

**A/N: Yo peeps… I liked that SO much better than the first chapter! What did you guys think? And I am soooo proud of myself… 2 updates in one day! Just don't get spoiled... believe me, this will NOT be the norm XD Anyways, thanks for reading! I'll try to have Chapter 3 up tomorrow. Oh, and reviews are great motivation! *hint hint* Oh, and I almost forgot… the first person to correctly tell me which book series the redheaded Nurse Nelly is from shall get a shout out!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So I'm starting this at 11:00 while quite sleepy… I take no blame if it turns into bunches of murderous bunnies and carnivorous rainbows and glittery kitties! Omnomnomnom… I iz drinking the yummiest tea EVER. It's supposed to be licorice flavored but doesn't taste licorice-y… it's really yummy and the aftertaste is RIDICULOUSLY sweet; it's really weird… but yummy. Okay, ANYWAYS (like I said, I'm half-asleep... WHY I'm sleepy so flippin early, I have NO idea) Arrrgh, ANYWAYS! To Chapter 3 :D**

Alec stared at the warm hand in his, willing it to move. The twins had been unconscious for hours now, and he was getting more and more scared. It was the beginning of his second shift; he and Camille were each sitting by one of the twins. They were silent. Alec was just sitting by Magnus's bed, holding the older boy's caramel-colored hand in his own, and wishing that they would awaken.

He loved Magnus. He'd always loved him, first as a brother, then—slowly—he'd begun to wish for more. Magnus had always been openly gay; even when they were children Alec and the others had known that Magnus liked other boys. He remembered their first kiss so clearly; he'd been 13 years old, confused and scared of what he was feeling, and when he had almost burst into tears after hearing a 'friend' make a homophobic remark, Magnus had been there. He'd seen the stricken look on Alec's face and followed him to the empty classroom, holding the younger boy as he cried and cried. Then, afterwards, he had gently kissed away the tears and suddenly everything had changed for Alec. He just felt… right. In Magnus's arms all the fear and confusion disappeared; he felt warm and safe and secure in a way he'd never felt before, and it was just so right that he knew he would never, ever leave Magnus. Their love was true love. They were _für immer._

Now Magnus was hurt and he didn't know what was wrong and it terrified him. Alec was naturally very logical and smart, but even his rational mind could think of no possible explanation of what had occurred—colored lights and sparks coming from a human body, then attacking another human? It was unheard of! Magnus moaned softly in his sleep and Alec's eyes, alerted by the sound, moved to Magnus's still face. Alec sighed—he was still out. Then he noticed the older boy's makeup—it was smudged and smeared in a way that Alec knew would have horrified his boyfriend, and he wished that he had some makeup remover so that the tall teen wouldn't be upset when he woke up. The thought refused to remove itself from his mind, so a few minutes later he broke the silence. "Cam, do you have any makeup remover?"

She looked up sharply, startled by the sound of his voice. "What?" she asked, "I'm sorry… I didn't hear you."

He repeated the question and she nodded, clearly understanding the reason behind his request. After digging through her purse for a moment she produced a small bottle of the remover and a cotton ball, which she passed to Alec. He nodded his thanks and began to carefully wipe away the bright, colorful eyeliner and shadow.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

He had finished the first eye and just began on the second when Magnus's eyes flickered. From behind him he heard a sharp intake of breath, and knew that Ragnor's must've done the same—were the twins finally ready to wake up? Setting the cotton ball down on a small table he once again took Magnus's hand, and pressed his lips to the smooth skin. "Come on, Mags... wake up!" he begged

Once again the boy's eyes fluttered, and this time they opened. Magnus blinked and sat up, looking around. Looking to his left, Alec saw that Ragnor had done the same. A small smile broke out on Alec's face. "How are you feeling? Are you ok?" he murmured gently.

"Yeah, I'm fine… sore… why am I in a hospital? And what'd wrong with Rags?"

"He got in a fight, and you two passed out. Magnus, you can NEVER do that again! We were all terrified! You've been out almost 7 hours!" he exclaimed, his voice catching slightly in his throat.

"He did... what? 7 hours?"

"Yes… Will got into a fight then Ragnor jumped in and some bastard went at him with a knife and this light thingy happened and you both just passed out!"

"_Why_?" he began to ask, but Nelly entering the room interrupted him.

"You're up!" she said with a warm smile at the twins. "And how are you two feeling?"

"Sore!" they chorused in that freaky twin way they had, making it sound like one slightly echo-y voice. Nelly laughed, then did a quick check-up—drew some blood, asked them a few questions, and fiddled around with their IVs a bit—before disappearing to go get the doctor.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Alec sighed and blinked tiredly, pushing his over-long black hair out of his face. Hospital visiting hours were over and he had just dropped off Camille and The Knights at their house; the doctor was still requiring the twins to stay overnight. Isabelle and Max- who had been picked up from school by a friend- were asleep in the backseat, leaning against each other. Alec smiled fondly at them as he pulled into the driveway of Lightwood Manor, parking the car in the garage. He gently reached into the back seat and picked up Isabelle easily; she was a skinny girl and he was very strong. Careful to not wake her, he carried his little sister up the stairs to her room, where he tugged off her shoes and put her in her bed, pulling the covers up over her.

Tiredly, he then trekked back down the stairs to get Max. To his surprise, he found his little brother half-awake. "Hey, bud… you're home," he whispered to the youngest Lightwood. "You can go back to sleep."

"Are Ragnor and Magnus ok?" he asked, his intelligent brown eyes troubled.

"Yes; they'll be fine. They have to stay at the hospital overnight, but we'll go see them after school, okay?"

"Okay," Max mumbled sleepily. He allowed himself to be picked up and carried inside, and by the time they reached his room he was fast asleep again. Alec smiled at his baby brother as he removed his shoes and glasses and tucked him in.

"Night, Maxie," he whispered as he pressed his lips to the young boy's forehead, then gently shut the door and slipped out of the room, to his own bedroom.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Alec's bedroom was simple, but comfortable; it very much reflected who he was. The walls were a nice dark blue and all the furniture was dark mahogany. Ceiling-high bookshelves filled with all his favorite books lined one wall, and black picture frames littered his dresser and shelves; in them were picture of his whole family. His 3 favorites were in a large, three-photo frame by his bed.

The frame was black, but had the word "family" around the frame in elegant silver script. One picture was of him and his siblings at an amusement park 4 summers ago with fireworks exploding in the background, giving the picture the look of having been taken though a kaleidoscope. They all looked happy ad carefree, but tired.

The next one Izzy had taken of him and Magnus sitting under a tree in the school courtyard, holding hands and talking quietly, oblivious to the camera—it was a beautiful picture; Magnus's hair wasn't spiked up like it normally was and his makeup was basic, just some light green eyeliner than made his beautiful eyes look even more captivating. Even Alec looked ok; it was one of the days that Magnus had stayed over and so, inevitably, he had picked out his boyfriend's clothes—black skinny jeans and a blue button-up shirt. It looked almost like a professionally taken picture, so artistic, but still so familiar and comforting.

The last photo was of all of them—Iz, Max, Magnus, Ragnor, Camille, Will, Jem, and him, Alec, - on the last day of school 2 years ago. Alec was sitting on Magnus's lap, blushing happily as Magnus kissed him on the cheek, of course leaving behind a smudge of the clear lip gloss that Magnus liked to wear. Alec still remembered not talking to any of them for a day after that, because no one had bothered to tell him, therefore he had walked around with a sparkly lip gloss print on his cheek all day. Ragnor was in the process of smacking Will upside the head- his black nails and makeup would've made Magnus's twin look rather dangerous if he hadn't been laughing while doing it- and Izzy and Cam had their arms around each other's waists and were laughing and blowing kisses at the camera, looking like the most stereotypical pair of teenage girls to ever walk the planet. Last but not least, Max and Jem were both just calmly hovering in the background, watching their crazy family having fun. As always, the two of them were just content to sit back and try to keep their friends out of trouble. It was easily one of his favorite pictures in the world because they all looked so happy and… like themselves. There was none of the silly forced smiles or ridiculous poses usually found in group pictures; it was just them having fun.

He crawled into bed still in his clothes; he was too sleepy to bother getting into pajamas. Then, just as he had done every night for as long as he could remember, he picked up the picture frame and flipped it over, scratching a small mark into the wooden back. As he did so he murmured 4 words: "To infinity and beyond."

The pictures had changed over the years, as had the frame—he'd had to replace it 4 times to make room for new marks- but the words and action had stayed the same. The score mark, and "To infinity and beyond." He couldn't say when he'd first begun to do it or even why; he just knew that by now he couldn't sleep without first performing his little ritual.

The words now spoken and the mark now made, he set the picture frame back on his bedside table and shut off the lamp, and curled up under the blankets. Within moments, he was asleep.

**A/N: Well that was pointless… sorry about the filler chapter, guys! And now seriously… review. I know that people are reading this, and yet I only have 2 reviews… if you think it sucks, then TELL me that! I usually don't do this, but… no updates until the little review count-y thing says 8 reviews. 6 to go, guys :D Now clicky clicky the pretty button!**


	4. Author's Note 1

**A/N: Seriously? One more review? (By the way, thanks for reviewing, Kenzie! Love you! :p) I have chapter 4 plus half of chapter 5 complete, but I'm still not updating til I get my reviews! Then next 5 people to review get a sneak peek! So review… NOW!**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Update time! Thanks soooo much to all my reviewers, especially MegaDancingPrincess and write4evr… you guys rock! :o Oh, and don't get used to the frequent updates… believe me, as soon as Monday gets here, expect no more than one update until Saturday. School completely MURDERS my writing time :( **

_"Hey, Rags!" I said happily as I looked around and saw Ragnor sitting right behind me, wearing a pink headband in his normally spikey black, green-streaked hair. We were sitting on the Ferocious Beast's massive back while munching on pumpkin-flavored imps, on our way to the Glam City Live concert. _

_ "If they don't do Fever and Human Connect to Human, people shall DIE," Ragnor proclaimed viciously, eyes literally shooting flames at the world. "And I want to see some Torg and Adommy!"_

_ Suddenly they appeared in a room that Magnus recognized as the art room from the elementary school. "What?" he screamed furiously as chocolate bunnies with the Tokio Hotel logo pattern on their fur and Adam Lambert's face filled the room, more and more and more, smothering him, his twin, and the Beast._

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Magnus jerked up into a sitting position as he awoke from his dream gasping for air. "God, that was scary!" he muttered

"That yellow cartoon character? With the red spots?" Ragnor questioned; he too looked like he'd just woken up and was breathing hard. He must've had the dream too—it wasn't uncommon for the 2 twins to have identical dreams and nightmares; they'd long ago gotten used to it.

Magnus nodded. "And the bunnies?"

"Yep. Well that was creepy. Can we get out of here yet?"

Both boys looked up as the door swung open and the red-headed nurse, Nelly, walked in. "Yes, actually… your mother signed you out as she left. You're free to go."

"Oh, thank God… I _hate_ hospitals," the twins said simultaneously. Nelly just grinned and walked out the door.

"I wonder how that guy David is…" Ragnor pondered, frowning slightly. The day before they'd been told that he had a fractured arm, a concussion, and multiple bruises. Despite the fact that the guy had totally deserved it, he still felt guilty; he was just a good person like that.

Magnus just snorted. "Oh, who cares… the jerk pulled a knife on you! He deserved what he got. Actually, he DESERVED a whole lot worse!" he fumed, then went on to describe EXACTLY what it was David has deserved. Needless to say, Magnus was rather protective of his twin brother.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

"Think we should stop by school and grab our makeup work?" Magnus asked his twin. They had just left the hospital and were walking home. It was a beautiful day; spring was here and it showed clearly all around them in the warm sunlight and the flowers slowly beginning to poke though the ground, their vibrant colors a welcome break from the earthy, bleak colors of winter.

Ragnor raised an eyebrow at him. "Seriously, Mags? _No_ we shouldn't! We have ALL DAY to do whatever, we are not about to ruin that with school work!"

The younger twin grinned and held up his hands in a peace-making gesture. "Just joking, twinster. God, you are so irritable!"

The irritable teen narrowed his cats eyes, about to make a scathing reply, but before he could a voice cut in. "Ragnor, Magnus, come here."

The twins exchanged a look, eyes wide. "Who-"

"I don't know…"

"My name is Maia. I'm a friend," the voice called. It was female, young, probably a teenager. "Just come here… I'm right here in the trees. Follow my voice."

They looked at each other, then shrugged. "We're coming!" they called, their voices mingling into one. They moved to stand close to each other, and side by side they plunged into the woods. Just a few feet in they both stopped moving, frowning and blinking. The branches and leaves blocked out more light than they'd expected and it looked dark and gloomy.

"Maia? Where are you?" Magnus called softly. Something about the shadow-filled forest made him reluctant to speak loudly.

"Right here!" she responded, appearing to the right of the boys. She was a teenager, as Magnus had guessed, curvy with mocha-colored skin and pretty dark hair. With her was a boy. He has an odd aura about him—a mix of stoner surfer, and dangerous bad boy. He was fairly handsome, with longish dirty blond hair and aqua colored eyes.

"Whoa… who's he?" Magnus asked, stumbling back a few steps, now getting scared.

The boy replied in a soothing voice, like he was speaking to an injured animal. "I'm Kyle… it's ok, we aren't going to hurt you. We have answers."

"About?" Ragnor asked coolly, watching them closely.

"What happened when you two passed out."

"Not interested; we already know what happened. We were hit by lightning." Magnus replied. But his voice was slightly uncertain. He'd heard Alec, Camille, Jem, and Will's accounts of what'd happened and heard the doubt in their voices when they'd told him about the doctor's diagnosis.

"No you weren't, Magnus." Maia said softly.

"That was you two. Your powers." Kyle explained.

"Guys… you're warlocks."

Ragnor barked a laugh, raising one eyebrow doubtfully. "Well, that was… anticlimactic. Hun, there's no such thing as warlocks. If you don't know that, you belong in a nut house."

"I'm not lying, I'm not joking, and I'm not insane. It's true; I swear. You're warlocks, and what you experienced two days ago was the result of 17 years buildup of power. When the boy pulled a knife on you, pain and anger triggered that magic, throwing the boy back and knocking yourself out. Because of your connection as twins and the residue of your magic, Magnus's power reacted, and the force of it made him pass out too. Those blue sparks and green lightning bolts were the visible manifestation of your magics. You're lucky they didn't do more, actually."

"Haven't you ever wondered about your eyes? Those are the sign of a warlock. Cat's eyes," Kyle added in a matter-of-fact sort of voice.

Magnus shook his head. "No, our mother, she was addicted to drugs. That's where the cat's eyes came from. They're a… mutation," he protested

"No, they aren't. They're from your father—a demon. That's why you're a warlock; you're half human and half-demon."

"Demons… don't exist. Our parents were human; our eyes are a mutation and it was a lightning strike that landed us in the hospital. You two are insane," Magnus insisted, though a tone of doubt was beginning to creep into his voice. Though most people wouldn't think so, he loved to read—especially fantasy. This was like a scene out of one of his favorite books! What if they weren't crazy… what if they were actually telling the truth?

Kyle sighed exasperatedly. "Okay, you want proof? Here's proof."

With quick, practiced movements he tugged off his t-shirt and jeans and began to… change. Within a minute they were no longer looking at a teenage boy, but at a wolf.

Maia sighed and rolled her eyes at the wolf. "Really, Kyle? Not only was that COMPELTELY against the rules, but you probably just terrified them! Nice going, wolf boy."

The twins watched in amazement as the wolf looked right at her and stuck his tongue out in a defiant manner, making her laugh.

"He has a… tail?" Ragnor's voice trailed off, ending in a question; it was clear that he was in a state of shock.

"And… he's…. fluffy…" Magnus chimed in, staring at wolfie boy in fascination. What in the world was going on here?

"Yep, he has a tail. And is fluffy. This furry idiot—" here she paused to glare at Kyle/the wolf, "—got annoyed and decided to break every rule in the book by morphing in front of you. We're werewolves."

"Um… okay… fine, you're werewolves. Or at least, he is. But how does this prove that we're warlocks?" Ragnor questioned her, ever stubborn.

At his words, a mischievous grin appeared on her face. "Why don't you pet wolf boy here? His fur is really soft…" she said in sly voice.

Kyle yelped in protest and jumped away, but Ragnor was too fast and his hand brushed against the wolf's shoulder. Immediately Kyle whined, and green bolts of light appeared around him. Mystified, Magnus reached out to touch one finger to Kyle's side, and as blue sparks danced on his fingertips the wolf yelped again. This time, he morphed back to a human.

"Maia!" he whined, clearly miffed. "Was that really necessary? That hurt!"

"Well if you hadn't thrown a temper tantrum and morphed, it wouldn't have happened!" she giggled. Then she directed her attention back to the twins.

"That was your magic reacting to Kyle's werewolf genes. You'll learn to control it, but until you do, try to avoid touching any other downworlders. Besides other warlocks, of course. But yeah, the magic stings. It's not too bad; just annoying," the girl explained.

"Yeah, LIES! These two are FULL of magic… I swear they burned me!"

"Oh, stop your whining. You're fine," she shot back, eyes still sparkling.

"So we're warlocks and you two are werewolves… but why are you here? What was the point of telling us this?"

Both of the werewolf's faces immediately grew sober.

"We're members of the Praetor Lupus, an organization made completely of downworlders. We find abandoned downworlders—vampires and werewolves who's changers didn't bother to stick around and explain what was happening, and half-faeries and warlocks whose human parents didn't or couldn't tell them of their downworld parentage—and train them. If they haven't injured or killed anyone, we find others of their kind to look after them; a clan or pack for werewolves and vampires, a mentor for warlocks, and the nearest Faerie group for half-fey children," Kyle told them in a very business-like tone.

Ragnor opened his mouth to speak but Magnus, having picked up n something, cut him off. "If they _haven't _harmed anyone? What if they _have_?" he asked, a feeling of dread settling in the bottom of his stomach.

"If they have… well, normally the Clave—Shadowhunters, that is; they're half human and half angel, supposedly the champions of mankind, sent by the angel Raziel- would put them to trial and punish them as they see fit. The Shadowhunters aren't too fond of us downworlders, though, so these punishments are often uncalled for and ruthless. If you are found by us first, though, there is an alternative. Years ago, using no small amount of blackmail, we reached an agreement with the Clave. If we locate an abandoned Downworlder before they do, and the Downworlder has injured a human, that Downworld child can join us and train as a member of the Praetor Lupus. So that is your other option. Your _only_ option."

Suddenly, a smooth, musical voice came from behind them. "No, it isn't."

**A/N: Ooooh, cliché... Beautiful voices appearing out of nowhere, offering a third option :o Thanks for reading chapter 4 of Die Verteidiger der Menschheit! Oh, and by the way… whenever I use a language that isn't English, chances are it'll be German. Anyone know why? :p So yeah, thanks for reading! And REVIEW! I do not want to have to hold the next chapter prisoner again! **


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Yo, FanFiction peeps! You can thank write4evr for the update… her virtual puppy eyes, plus the fact that I have no school today, meant that I had no choice but to update :p And I shall now go hide in a corner somewhere and let you awesome people read the story! :D**

_**Last chapter:**_

"_So that is your other option. Your _only_ option."_

_Suddenly, a smooth, musical voice came from behind them. "No, it isn't."_

_**Now:**_

__All four teenagers whirled around at the voice, Kyle and Maia tensed for a fight. Magnus scanned the trees in front of him, but nobody was within his sight.

"Show yourself!" Maia called in a sure voice. Her amber eyes darted from tree to tree, searching for some sign of the speaker. When there was no reply, she continued to speak. "Show yourself, or we will come after you!"

Another moment or two passed before there was a rustle of leaves, then someone leaped out of a tree and landed lightly on his feet in a lithe, catlike manner.

"No need for threats; we're all friends here," the stranger **(A/N: lol, stranger danger! Okay, okay, sorry… I'm tired and therefore all wonky, just ignore me XD) **said in the same light, soothing voice. This time Magnus could make out an accent, something unfamiliar but lilting and beautiful, if oddly formal. He kept in the shadows where they could just make out his outline, and his head must've been bowed because they couldn't see his eyes.

"Step out of the shadows, to where we can see you, and identify yourself… _friend_," Kyle ordered, staying in a ready-to-fight stance.

"Very well, werewolf. As I said before, no need for threats."

As he spoke, he slowly moved out of the shadows and into a small patch of sunlight. What he saw took Magnus's breath away. The boy was simply _dazzling_. He was young, maybe late teens or early twenties. His clothes were simple but flattering; dark jeans and a tight black t-shirt that showed off toned muscles and tanned skin. His eyes were gorgeous; an odd, piercing mix of dark brown and green that reminded Magnus of the forest itself, but they were dark with age and the pain and knowledge that came with it. There was a sardonic smile lurking on his features; the grin and eyes gave him the look of someone who knew too much of the world and the horrors it contained. Basically, he was flawless. But despite his air of perfection, there was something cold and frightening about him, something that Magnus couldn't quite pinpoint. He seemed ancient, much older than the 20 years that Magnus had guessed at.

"I am Sileo," he announced. He said it like 'See-lay-o', and his accent was very pronounced with that sentence, for some reason. No, Magnus was sure he had never heard that accent before and somehow he knew that it was from a long-forgotten, ancient language. It was beautiful, though. Musical.

"And _what _are you, Sileo?" Maia questioned. Her voice still steady. She had transformed from a teenage girl into someone official and 100% sure of herself; she was confident that she could handle any outcome, and it showed.

It took Magnus a moment to figure out her question—that she was asking what… what would they be called? Race? He made a mental note to find out later.

A thoughtful looks appeared on Sileo's face as he presumably pondered his response. Finally he replied. "What I am is something you have no knowledge of, and therefore that information is irrelevant to my presence here."

"Why exactly _are_ you here?" Ragnor asked, speaking for the first time in some minutes, since he found out that he and Magnus were warlocks.

Something in Ragnor's tone alerted Magnus, and he turned to look at his brother, frowning slightly. There was a ghost something dark and reckless about him; something frightening. At that moment, he wished that they could just walk away. He wanted to be able to think and to talk to his twin and sort all of this out, but something told him that it would be dangerous to walk away. Very dangerous.

"Hmmm…" the perfect boy mused, "why am I here? Because of a mistake, perhaps? Yes, a mistake… I was reckless, careless, and now I must pay the price, I suppose. But of course, that was not the answer to what you are inquiring… I am here, as it happens, for you. I am here to save your lives from the Praetor Lupus."

Maia, Ragnor, and Magnus stared at him in shock, but before anyone could speak or even move, Kyle had leapt at Sileo and pinned him to a tree, eyes flashing furiously. "What are you talking about?" he hissed viciously, "The Praetor Lupus do not kill! We save lives! What are you talking about?"

Maia finally unfroze herself and rushed forward to grab Kyle, dragging him away from Sileo. "Kyle! Calm down, NOW!" she ordered, keeping a firm hold on the older boy to prevent him attacking again.

Slowly he stopped struggling. "Are you going to behave if I let you go?"

"Fine… is he explains what the hell he's talking about!"

"Okay, Sileo… what exactly are you talking about? Kyle's right, the Praetor Lupus is a non-violent organization. We're trained _not _to kill," she said as she released Kyle, though she kept a hold on his hand. This didn't escape Magnus's notice, and he briefly wondered if they were dating. Then he wondered just how bloody stupid he was, to be thinking of that with all that was going on. People kept claiming that he and his brother could be KILLED, for God's sake! He shook his head and glanced at Ragnor again. He still looked turmoiled—not that he didn't have an excuse to.

"Yes, it's members are… it's leaders, though, are another matter," he responded. "Ragnor, you've been told that you have two options, die or join the Praetor Lupus. What do you plan to do?"

"Is that any of your business?" Ragnor shot back angrily.

"Okay, fine. I'll answer for you then. Right now you still believe that you have the choice to walk away and go back to your life as it was before. Eventually, though, you will realize that you don't have that option and then the Praetor Lupus will recruit you. Only once there will they tell you that you will be required to stay at their headquarters for 2 years for training, with no contact with your family at all. You will be cut off from your brother, your friends, and your foster family completely for 2 years. Do you deny this, Maia? Kyle?"

Maia shook her head. "No, it's true. We aren't allowed outside contact for the first 2 years, but that's for our safely and the safety of others. We have to learn to control our powers. Otherwise, we could accidentally harm or kill an innocent Mundane. And we are informed of that when we choose to join."

"Exactly—when you choose to join. I doubt that our warlock friend here will choose."

"STOP talking about me like I'm not here!" Ragnor exploded. Green bolts of light flashed around him, making the air crackle dangerously. "You all are fucking psycho! I am NOT joining your damn organization, I am NOT getting fucking killed by the fucking Cloves or whatever the hell it is, and I AM NOT A WARLOCK!" he screamed. He turned to run from the forest, back towards the sidewalk just as Magnus had been wishing to do a few minutes before.

Maia and Kyle jumped back from the lights in alarm, attempting to avoid being burned by them, but Sileo just watched calmly, his dark eyes missing nothing. Magnus hesitated for a moment, indecisive. Should he stay and learn more, or run after his twin? Brotherly instinct won out, and he turned to the trio of supernatural beings. "We're going home. You stay the fuck away from me and my family, or you _are_ going to have to hand me over to the Clave. For murder," he told them calmly.

And with that parting threat, he turned and ran after Ragnor.

**A/N: Okay, not only was that super short, but it didn't follow the plot I had planned AT ALL and was crappily written… I am SO sorry guys. Hopefully chapter 6 will be better :/ And now, seriously, I'm not even gonna bother asking for reviews cause this SO doesn't deserve them.**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter ends up being a bit of a mess… like I said, the last chapter didn't really cooperate with what I had planned out, so this might be kind of slow and/or a filler. Just bear with me, I promise I'll get it together eventually! Also, just out of curiosity… it there anyone who would be willing to beta this story? If you would, please shoot me a PM!**

"Magnus, are you_ sure_ you're ok?" Alec asked for the 6th time. The two boys were curled up on Alec' bed watching Pirates of the Caribbean; Magnus had his arms around Alec, whose head was on his boyfriend's shoulder, his hand lazily tracing designs on the older boy's tanned skin. He was worried about Magnus; his boyfriend had been quiet and distracted since the day he'd gotten out of the hospital. Also, normally while watching a movie—especially a movie with Johnny Depp in it—he would've been keeping a constant commentary on the plot and acting and makeup and clothes and everything else involved in a movie, but tonight he had been almost completely silent. Frankly, Maggie's odd behavior was starting to scare Alec.

"I'm fine, Love. Just tired," Magnus replied once again. But in truth, he wasn't fine. He was far from it.

3 days had passed since he and Ragnor had encountered the trio of Downworlders. They hadn't spoken of it since that first day, which had ended disastrously.

Magnus had caught up with his twin quickly and they had walked home in silence, the thick fog that had suddenly appeared ruining his hair and adding to the grim mood.

Thankfully, no one else was home—their foster parents were at work and Camille, Jem, and Will were still at school. The two teenagers didn't say a word as they climbed the stairs to their shared room (Camille was the only one with her own room; Will and Jem had to share too). Once safely inside, they locked the door and hooked Ragnor's iPod up to the speakers, blasting the music to prevent anyone who happened to come home early from hearing them talking. They stood in the middle of the room in silence, facing each other, each waiting for the other to speak first.

Unsurprisingly, it was Magnus—always the louder twin—who broke the still hush that surrounded them like a cloud **(A/N: Urgh, that reminded me of The Approaching Curve by Rise Against, for some reason… sad song :( Also, it has a weird style… especially the beginning. Anyways… read on!)**. "Well? What do you think?"

"What… what do I _think_?" Ragnor repeated incredulously, "I _think_ that they're insane and need to be stuck in a mental asylum! You can't seriously believe them!"

"Ragnor, we saw proof! We _watched_ that boy turn into a werewolf right in front of us, and you saw those lights when you got angry; how do you explain them?"

"Hallucinations from the medication they gave us at the hospital and leftover electrical discharge," Ragnor countered stubbornly. It was obvious that he had no intention of accepting the possibility that Maia and Kyle had been telling them the truth.

Magnus, on the other hand, wasn't so sure; he was still on the fence about the whole thing. No, he wasn't about to start barricading himself indoors every full moon or carrying garlic juice around with him, but he did know that something was going on and he had no idea what it meant for him or his brother, and it frightened him. At least if Kyle and Maia were telling the truth, he would have an explanation that was kind of familiar to him—he'd read books with werewolves and warlocks and warriors; at least he had some idea of what they were!

"Don't you think we should, I dunno, look into it? Do some research; see if we can find any evidence for what they said? We could get Alec and The Knights to help out; you know they love stuff like that…"

"No!" Ragnor practically yelled, looking almost panicked. "We can't tell them, they'd think we were crazy! How can you even believe all that crap? You're insane, totally—"

"Ragnor!" Magnus cut in firmly, stopping the crazed rant. He did edge back a few steps, though, in case any more lightning went flying. "Look, I won't pull the others into this, okay? I do want to at least check it out though… just see what I can find."

It had taken the better part of an hour, but after much debating, Magnus had finally won—and without any more shouting or light throwing, much to the younger twin's relief. He _hated_ that version of Ragnor, and when his twin got like that it scared him more than he'd like to admit.

He looked down at Alec. The younger boy's face was worried, and Magnus wished he could tell him about what was going on. It almost physically hurt him, knowing that his love was scared and that it was his fault. Even worse, he knew that just a few words could make it better… but because of a stupid promise, he couldn't speak those words. He sighed and tightened his arms around his boyfriend.

"I love you, Alexander," he mumbled into Alec's dark hair, "You know that, right?"

Alec lifted his sleepy blue eyes to Magnus's face. "Of course I know that," he replied, looking slightly confused by Magnus's words. "I love you too, Magnus."

Magnus smiled slightly. "Good," he whispered. "I'm glad you do."

There was no reply; the blue-eyed boy had fallen asleep. Magnus snuggled closer to his sleeping angel, letting his warm, familiar scent—he always smelled like an odd but comforting mix of Axe and, for some unknown reason, coconut and chocolate (it made him smell yummy, like a Mounds candy bar, plus Axe)- and within moments he too was asleep.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Magnus's brilliant green eyes scanned the room, searching for anything odd or out of place, but –despite the fact that he knew Alec's room almost as well as he knew his own—he couldn't find the thing making that noise. He was sure that it had been there in the room, that that was what had awakened him…

_Tap tap tap_

There it was! He listened closely, zoning in on the sound, then swung his head towards the window. Yep, that's what it was… something tapping at the window! Heart pounding, he carefully untangled himself from Alec's arms and crept towards the window, armed with the heavy metal bat that Alec—always paranoid—kept under his bed. He peered out the window, half expecting to see a bird or tree branch thumping against it, and had to stifle a shout. There in the glass, illuminated creepily by the half moon, was a face!

He stumbled back a few paces in fear, breath catching in his throat. Then the face spoke. "Magnus! It's me, Maia, you dope!"

Magnus's eyes widened in shock, though his heartbeat calmed down a bit. So he'd been right… Maia _hadn't_ just been a figment of his imagination, caused by medication. She was real!

He quietly unlatched the clasps and slid the window open. "Maia, what are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you. Meet me in the trees across the street—Kyle is bringing Ragnor."

"Okay, I'll be there in 10 minutes," the cat-like teen replied quietly.

"Thanks… And don't bring the hottie with you!" she added, nodding towards Alec. And with that, she dropped out of sight.

As Magnus pulled one of Allie's oversized hoodies on, switched his neon green pajama pants for jeans, and pulled a brush through his tangled ebony locks, the thought of the inanity of what he was doing—sneaking out to the woods In the middle of the night to meet a girl he barely knew, who was supposedly a werewolf member of a secret organization that a mysterious stranger claimed could kill him and his twin—didn't even cross his mind. **(A/N: Just a little reality check for all you awesome readers out there… Isn't our little Maggie just **_**brilliant?**_** :D)**

He kissed Alec's forehead and watched the boy's sleeping face for a moment as he mumbled something in his sleep, before slipping out of the room, shutting the door gently behind him.

He snuck past Isabelle and Max's rooms to the stairs and crept down them, careful not to wake anyone up. The Lightwood parents were actually home for once, and even though he loved Maryse and Robert—his first foster mother had been close friends with Maryse and after she'd died, Maryse had pulled a few strings and made sure that he and his foster siblings stayed in the same town, with Alec and Izzy and all their other friends; he'd always been grateful for that, and regarded Maryse as a close aunt, or even a second mother—he didn't think that they'd be too pleased to catch him sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night.

Once downstairs he quickly disabled the alarm and crossed the street to the strip of forest. Even though a half moon hung brightly in the sky, casting light over the street and sidewalk, the leaves and branches blocked out that light and only a few steps into the trees he could no longer see his hand in front of his face, much less a path. He cursed himself quietly for not thinking to bring a flashlight, wondering how he would find Maia _now_.

After a few seconds of debating, he decided on the easiest way. "Maia? Are you there?" he called, his voice barely louder than a whisper. He had heard of bears in these woods, and was not fond of the idea of getting mauled by a massive beast because he'd woken it. Magnus was _not_ a huge fan of pain. Or blood, for that matter.

Maybe 2 minutes passed, then there was a rustling of leaves and the pretty teenager appeared. Her amber eyes were the only part of her he could see, shining like beacons in the pitch black forest; the rest of her was just a faint, blurry outline in the shadowy darkness. "Come on," she whispered, "your brother and Kyle should be waiting a little deeper in the woods. There's a fallen tree that we agreed to meet by—do you know it?"

Magnus shook his head. "Nah… I don't spend much time in the woods. Well… actually, I pretty much avoid them at all costs. Too many bugs."

She grinned at his reply. "The bugs aren't that bad. Most of them are harmless."

"Yeah, but they're still… creepy. And crawly. And sometimes stinky and sticky. And just… blah," he said, wrinkling his nose disgustedly. "Also, it's WAY too easy to get dirty in the forest."

Maia rolled her eyes, stifling a laugh. "Come on, pretty boy… let's find the others before it starts raining and you melt on me."

**A/N: YAY longest chapter yet :D That actually turned out way better than I'd expected… especially since I wrote most of it at school. Now you all know that I love you… so review? Please? Anyone who does gets chocolate and/or coconut and a virtual hug from a person of your choice! :D**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: Um… dude, Idk what I'm gonna say today… oh, I know! For the try-out form I have to fill out for Odyssey of the Mind, I have to change my name to something else and I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT! :o And I seriously have to figure it out cause if I do not get on Mr. Fraser's O.M team things shall go ka-boom -.- *sigh* anyways, here's chapter 7! (This is seven, right? I hope so… I'm too lazy to go look). Oh, and Sileo shall return in this chapter! YAY!**

Magnus glared at Maia's back as he stumbled after her through the forest—apparently the werewolf girl's definition of "soon" was VERY different from his, because they'd been walking for 10 minutes already!

Oblivious to the obscenities that Magnus was mentally screaming at her, Maia looked back at him over her shoulder. "So… what's with the niceness today?" she asked curiously.

"Huh? _What_ niceness?"

"Well, last time we met we didn't part on the best of terms. I seem to remember you threatening to kill us if we didn't stay away from you, then storming off after your brother," she explained mildly.

"Oh… that. I don't know. I was mad and worried about Rags and kind of overwhelmed and I just… reacted, I guess. Also, you aren't too bad. It was Kyle and Sileo causing all the issues," he replied thoughtfully.

"Honestly, Kyle usually isn't like that. He's normally a total sweetie; I don't know what his problem was. He was being an ass, though. Sorry."

Magnus tipped his head to one side a bit curiously. "So are you two dating? You and Kyle?"

She blushed slightly, reminding him oddly of Alec. "Yeah. We've been together for 4 years… he's pretty amazing. And he really cares about people. Like, some of the members just joined up for protection or whatever, but not him. He actually decided to; he wanted to help. He's been there, the scared kid who has no idea what's going on, and he hated it, so he kind of channels all his energy into the Praetor Lupus. It's pretty much… everything to him."

"He does sound like a cool guy… even if he is an asshat. But Ragnor wasn't being all that pleasant either, I guess… they're both jerks equally."

Maia giggled. "So what about that boy you were with? He was pretty adorable."

Magnus smiled. "Alec. My boyfriend—we've know each other for ages. This is gonna sound super corny, but… he's my soul mate. Like, seriously, it's like we were meant to be together. We've known each other since we were 4, and our families are really close, and his sister is my best friend and everything. He's just… perfect."

"Whoa, the happy glow… it's blinding!"

"Oh, you think this is bad? You should see me normally… my immensely happy happy glow, reflected off 3 pounds of glitter…"

"Oh God, how does your Alec survive?" she gasped in mock horror.

"He's a tough guy… he can deal," Magnus replied, unaware of the fact that he was literally radiating happiness that left no doubt in Maia's mind that what he'd said about he and Alec being soul mates was true. Anyone who saw _any_ interaction between then walked away without a doubt in their minds that the two boys were in love, and deeply so.

"Good—we wouldn't want your soul mate getting sick from glow-overdoseage! But seriously, you two sound like something out of a movie. I think it's cute."

They finished the hike to the fallen tree chatting quietly about everything in te world, except for anything relevant or serious. For a few minutes, they both actually felt like normal teens, talking about boys and clothes and movies, without a care in the world—but all too soon, they had reached the tree where Ragnor and Kyle were waiting for them.

Both boys looked annoyed, almost comically so—their arms were crossed over their chests and they were facing away from each other, each obviously avoiding any contact with the other. Maia sighed and rolled her eyes when she saw them. "Oh, joy… Kyle's in asshat mode again."

"Yep, Rag is too," Magnus replied unenthusiastically. Then, sarcastically, he added "Yay for us!"

Kyle and Ragnor spun around at the sound of voices, relaxing as they saw that it was just Magnus and Maia. "Finally!" Ragnor muttered in a rather hostile tone—it was clear that he did NOT want to be there, and Magnus wondered briefly how the werewolf had convinced him to come.

"So why the hell are we here, anyways?" he grumbled.

Kyle opened his mouth to make a cutting remark, but Maia shook her head slightly, reaching for his hand. "We don't really know. Sileo contacted us yesterday and asked us to get you two and meet him in this forest. He didn't say why, just that he'd find us."

Rags stared at her incredulously. "You agreed to meet a creepy guy in the middle of the night in the forest, and dragged _us_ along with you? Are you mentally unstable?"

"No… she's brave and smart. Two qualities you would do well to think about practicing."

Ragnor jumped about a mile in the air as the mysterious boy dropped out of a tree behind him with barely a sound. "HOLY SILVER EYELINER! Stop. Freaking. Doing that!"

"Doing what? I merely approached you; if you could not hear me that is no fault of mine. Maybe you should pay more attention, mortal. Oh, and it's nice to know that you consider me creepy."

"I-you-what-eavesdropping-" he spluttered, looking terrified of the gorgeous, dark, silent teenager.

"Calm down, Fell. I'm above caring about such petty things as what you think of me. I'm here because I have information that you _all_ need to hear."

"Oh, really? I suppose the sky on Planet Unicorn has turned rainbow colored and filled with benevolent but mischievous dragons, and you need us to go an epic, life-threatening quest to fix it?"

"How did you know? Queen Crystal-Butterfly sent me to fetch the Forgotten Champions of the Tulips and set them on their path, through the deadly FluffPuff infested Mini-Moo Forest and I thought that you 4 might like to help!"

Magnus stared at Sileo for a second, trying to determine whether or not he was serious—his words had been so ridiculous, but he'd sounded 100%serious and he had kept a completely straight face!

"Warlock, close your mouth—you'll catch flies. Or perhaps sprites… I think I saw a few flying around here. But I was _joking_; just like your amusing little brother here was. Or at least I hope he was… you never know with these temperamental warlocks."

"_I_ am the older brother, thank you very much!"

"Older in minutes, perhaps… but smaller in everything else, as far as I can see," Sileo replied with a smirk.

"Okay, children, stop it with the bickering! Ragnor, quit being a jerkface, it's getting old. If you're gonna survive in my world you're gonna have to learn to just shut the fuck up and stop pissing off people who are stronger than you and if it takes Sileo or Kyle beat the living crap out of you in a 2 second long fight for you to learn that, I'm not butting in and saving you! Believe me, I don't like you and I would LOVE to see my boyfriend kick your ass, so crap out whatever is stuck up your ass, get rid of the ego, and get it together! Sileo, you stop screwing with us and either go the hell away or tell us whatever it is that you came to tell us so we can get out of this fucking forest and back to sleep!"

Magnus almost laughed out loud at the stunned look on Ragnor's face; he was too shocked to even think of a retort! Grinning hysterically, he shot Maia a thumbs up.

Sileo, too, looked quite amused when he next spoke. "Very well, little downworlder. As I said last time we met, all is not as it seems within the inner circle of the Praetor Lupus—the Wolf Guardians. Maia, Kyle, you are both aware of the rehabilitation program that occurs at the Guard's headquarters. But what of those who will not or cannot be rehabilitated? What happens to them?"

Maia frowned in confusion, clearly not understanding the reason for this line of questioning. "They're mind-wiped and sent home, with blocks on their powers."

"Incorrect. That is the cover story that the higher-ups use, but it is merely a lie to keep those members like the two of you happy."

"Oh really?" Kyle asked. "So what really does happen?"

"I assume you both have heard of Valentine? Leader of the Circle?"

"Yes… we learned about him in training. He was _horrible_. Did all sorts of terrible experiments on downworlders, attacked his own allies, killed himself in a fire a few years after his Circle was destroyed. What does _he_ have to do with this?"

"Well he may be dead… but his ideas aren't. Some of his former circle members have been working for years on infiltrating the Guardians, and a few of them have finally wormed their way to the top. They are carrying on his 'research'—using the unsuccessful rescue attempts."

Kyle stared furiously at Sileo. "You're lying!" he insisted angrily. "How many times do I have to tell you, the Praetor Lupus are the good guys! We _help_ people!"

Maia rubbed slow circles on the back of his hand with her thumb. "Kyle, shush for a second… please? I want to hear this. How do you know this, Sileo? Who told you it?" The werewolf girl was clearly troubled and looked on the verge of tears, and Magnus wished that he could go over and give her a hug, hold her until all this went away. Even though he'd only met the girl twice, he felt real affection for her, and he knew that hearing this about the group she had dedicated her life to couldn't be easy. But he didn't dare even smile at her, with Kyle right there and in such a violent mood. He doubted the werewolf would harm Maia… but Magnus himself was a different matter altogether.

"No one told me; I saw it myself. I was their prisoner, stuck in their little lab experiments, for 27 years."

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait a sec… _27 years_? There is no way… you can't be older than 20!" Magnus cut in, wondering how he could've been _that_ off on judging Sileo's age.

"Magnus, I'm immortal. 27 years is like a heartbeat for me… I'm older than this _planet_."

"Oh… okay." Well that explained the old-fashioned accent and ancient aura—he _was_ ancient and old-fashioned!

Silence settled over the 5 like a blanket as the moon sunk lower and lower in the sky, soon to give way to the light of the sun. Then, out of absolutely nowhere, Magnus's vision vanished. He blinked rapidly, stumbling back a few steps and almost falling over the fallen tree, but Ragnor darted forward to catch him. "Magnus, hun, what's wrong?"

"I… don't know! My eyes, they just… ARGH!" he cried as a blinding pain pierced his forearm, then he could see again—but it wasn't through his own eyes. Alec lay on the floor before him, bleeding from countless cuts, his right arm—the same arm that had pained Magnus just moments before—lying at an awkward, impossible angle. And all over his body, there were dark, swirling symbol marked into his skin.

**A/N: :o ALLIE! Hehe aren't I evil? I'm holding the next chapter prisoner until I get at least 20 total reviews, mainly just cause I feel like it XD Also, anyone want to guess how Kyle got Ragnor into the forest? Hint… it shall be a future plotline, and I cannot WAIT to write Alec's reaction when he finds out :D So yeah… review, you'll get a hug from Maia! (Who I totally LOVED writing in this chapter, by the way)**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Okay, guys… I know that I'm not the best writer ever, and sometimes I'm just plain sucky, and I love everyone who is reading this to pieces, but for the past few chapters, unless I refuse to update until I get reviews, I have been getting exactly 2 per chapter: from write4evr and MegaDancingPrincess (thanks people… love you! You 2 are EPIC!). But yeah, I know that people are reading this because I check that little graph thingy under Traffic Stats and I keep getting story alerts and favorites! Therefore from now on, I am not uploading each chapter until the previous chapter gets 4 reviews. I feel like a total bitch saying that, but oh well… I'm taking the time and effort to write this crappy little story; the least you can do is take 15 seconds out of your day to type "this sucked" or "I loved it". I'm not trying to be annoying or bitchy… I just want you guys to review :p **

_**One hour before:**_

Alec woke up shivering. He had a seriously messed up body temperature for some reason, and was therefore always freezing, but he usually either slept with Magnus or under a million blankets, so it was rare for him to be this cold at night. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter against the weak rays of sunlight starting to peek through the trees and rolled over, planning to snuggle closer to Magnus—the guy was like a walking furnace; he could wear t-shirts all winter and be just fine—but there was only one problem with that plan: Magnus wasn't there! Well, that explained the coldness. The black haired boy raised his head slightly, expecting to see a light glowing around the doorframe of the bathroom, signifying that his boyfriend was already up and doing his makeup, but it wasn't there.

A memory popped unbidden into his mind: waking up in the middle of the night and moving to the window, to see Magnus slip out of the front door and walking down the street, not towards his own house but towards the shopping mall and forest that stood nearby, being followed by a shadow-y figure dressed in black.

That was when he started to get really scared. Just as he was changing out of his PJs, his phone rang—it was Isabelle. "Alec, have you seen Ragnor? I stayed over with Camille and we just went to his room to get Magnus's green eyeliner and he wasn't there! We searched the whole house; we don't know where he went, he just disappeared and he's not answering his phone…"

"Is Camille there?"

"Yes… she's right next to me. Why?"

"Tell her I'm coming over. Magnus is gone too; I think he left some time last night. I'll be over in a few minutes… I have to get Max up. I don't want to leave him by himself."

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

"I still think you're over reacting—they probably just got up early to go see a movie or something; you know they've been wanting to go see Pirates 4. But whatever, more to the point… now that you've called Alec and got him totally freaked out too, would you please tell me _why _my best friend has been sleeping with my brother and neither me nor Magnus knew about it?"

"Why do you think I've been sleeping with him? I have not been sleeping with Ragnor!"

"Oh really, Teddy Bear? Then why exactly _were_ you here last night? Because you most certainly weren't with me!"

Isabelle picked at a loose thread on her friend's Twilight bedspread for a minute before answering. "Okay, fine… I was with Ragnor. But this was the first time we've… done that! I don't even know what happened; we went to Pandemonium with Andrew and Josh and Faith last night and somehow we ended up back here… it just _happened_!" she practically wailed the last 3 words, tears suddenly streaming down her face. That was when Camille realized that her friend really was worried and upset.

She scooted closer to Iz and the sobbing girl put her head on Cam's shoulder, while Camille gently stroked her hair and rocked back and forth. "Shhhh, Izzy. It's ok. Ragnor wouldn't disappear without a good reason; we'll find him then we'll get this all worked out, okay sweetie? Everything'll be fine…"

She didn't speak as Isabelle eventually sat up and wiped her eyes, staring out the window. She just rubbed circles on her friend's back, mentally cursing her manwhore of a brother and praying that he really had had a good reason for leaving.

It wasn't long before they heard a quiet knock on the bedroom door and Alec and Max walked in. Max looked sleepy and confused, and Alec's eyes were the color of a storm—the color of worry.

Max immediately walked over to the fuzzy black beanbag chair in the corner of the room and curled up like a cat, watching the others. "Are Will and Jem up yet? Have you asked if they've seen the twins?" Alec asked, taking charge of the situation just as Camille had known he would.

She shook her head. "I'll go get—"

"No need, we're already here. What is going on in this dismal place?" Will asked, his accent making him sound like someone out of an old movie. He cast a look around the room with one eyebrow raised, taking in Isabelle's tear-streaked face and Alec's dark eyes. "Everyone looks positively miserable!"

"Ragnor and Magnus are missing," Camille told him. "They both just vanished sometime last night. Alec and Iz are worried about them."

"Well, what-" Jem's question was cut off by the sound of the door being kicked open. 5 men flooded into the room. They were wearing dark cloaks and had black tattoos inked into their skin. None of the teens even had a chance to scream before every one of their senses disappeared.

_**Now:**_

Magnus's vision returned slowly, the image of Alec fading away from the edges in, so that the last thing he saw was his love's bruised face, his dazzling blue eyes dull with pain.

Magnus was sitting on the fallen tree, and Ragnor and the werewolves were next to him—Sileo had stayed where he was. "Alec!" the tall teenager gasped. "Alec's in trouble!"

He sprang to his feet, ignoring the dizziness that rushed over him. "Maia, Kyle, come on! We have to go find Alec!" he pleaded desperately, still shaken up by the vision.

"What happened, Magnus? How do you know that Alec is in trouble?" Maia questioned gently.

"I saw him! He was in this… stone room and he was hurt!"

Maia and Kyle exchanged a look before speaking again. "We need to check this out. Ragnor, are you coming?"

The boy nodded, pale and scared after Magnus's little episode. "What if he's not there?" he asked as they ran back the way Magnus and Maia had come earlier that night, towards the Lightwood house.

"Then we'll check your house and make sure he hasn't gone there in search of Magnus. If we don't find him, we'll decide what to do then."

It only took them a few minutes to determine that there was no one at all in the Lightwood house—Izzy and Max were gone too. A dark cloud hung over the 4 teenagers as they walked to Magnus's house, then split up to search—Magnus and Maia took the first floor, while Kyle and Ragnor headed upstairs to check the bedrooms.

Magnus was ready to just give up, when Kyle appeared at the bottom of the stairs. "Um, guys? Come up here… we found someone."

The two sprinted up the stairs after Kyle, and followed him to Camille's room. The door was open and Magnus was the first inside. What he was almost made him sick.

Camille was in a corner with her legs drawn up to her chest, her arms around her knees, staring at nothing while Ragnor crouched next to her talking quietly. The blond girl was bleeding from a gash above her eye, blood running down her face and dripping onto the carpet.

Rags looked up when they entered the room. His eyes had turned that dark, scary color again. "She won't talk to me. I don't know what's wrong."

Magnus took a few deeps breaths, then joined his two siblings. "Camille, baby, what happened?" he whispered. She raised her head slightly at the sound of his voice.

"They took them… all of them but me…"

She began to rock back and forth. Magnus could see her light green eyes now and they were haunted; terrified. He tenderly knelt down and slipped one arm under her knees, the other behind her back, and carried her to her bed. She curled up in a ball there, still staring straight ahead.

"Who took them, hun? Did they take everyone? Jane and Ron too?" he murmured, brushing her blond hair away from her pale face. Next to him, he saw Maia kneel by the bed and press a towel the cut on her forehead. Camille didn't even flinch at the cold cloth against her skin.

She shook her head. "No… Will and Jem and Max and Iz and Alec. I don't know… why the men didn't take me... There were 5 of them. They had tattoos." She whispered in a hollow voice. "Where did they take them, Magnus?"

"I think I can be of service here, my friends."

Magnus didn't even jump; he was finally getting used to Sileo's silent appearances. "Who took my family and where did they take them?"

"They sound like come of Valentine's old followers; they used to wear those cloaks. Those tattoos would be runes. Marks that Shadowhunters trace into their skin to give them extra abilities. They will have taken them to the Praetor Lupus headquarters."

"My, my, my… someone seems quite well informed."

Magnus turned around just in time to see 3 teenagers leap into the room through the window.

**A/N: URGH, finally! You guys have NO. IDEA. How much I hate this chapter… it took me ALL of today and like 5 hours yesterday to write! RAWR! Lol the writing muses are probably mad at me for being a meanie in my last A/N… sorry about that, I was just frustrated. But still, 24 reviews, guys! Bye bye :)**


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: Ello, my fabulous little readers! Jello is yummy :D Has anyone ever read Julie of the Wolves? That was a good book… Jello annoyed me though -.- And I was SO sad when the little birdie died! D: Anyways, I just realized I forgot to say this… Ron and Jane are the foster parents. Oh, and it was the whole Ragnor and Izzy thing that Kyle used to blackmail Rags into coming to the forest a few chapters ago. Just in case anyone cares. So yeah… I guess it's time for me to get up off my lazy butt and start writing now *sigh***

_**Last Chapter:**_

_Magnus turned around just in time to see 3 teenagers leap into the room through the window._

_**Now:**_

There were 2 boys and a girl, all about 16 or 17. The girl was short and cute, with bright red hair and equally bright green eyes. All over her body there were the same black designs that had covered Alec's skin in his vision. The two boys were dramatically different—one was slightly geeky and awkward looking, with messy brown hair that reminded Magnus of Max, wearing old jeans and a gamer t-shirt. The other, the one who had just spoken, was stunning. What was it with this little group of supernatural beings and dazzling guys? Anyways, he was golden. Literally. His eyes and hair were the color of liquid gold, and his tanned skin- which also sported the marks- had a gold-ish tint too.

Magnus's evaluation of the little trio was abruptly ended by Ragnor. "ARRRRGH!" he screamed. "WHY. DO. PEOPLE. KEEP. BREAKING. IN. TO. MY. HOUSE? GET OUT! You too!" he added, whirling around to glare at Sileo, who held up his hands in a 'Whoa… what'd _I_ do?' gesture.

"I suggest that you calm down, warlock… we've been sent by the Clave to investigate criminal activity in this residence and you are not exactly endearing yourself to us." Blondie said in a superior tone that sounded decidedly condescending.

Kyle rasied one eyebrow doubtfully. "Oh, really? Since when does the Clave hire vampires to do their dirty work for them?" he asked, nodding towards the geek. Huh, so that's what he was… Magnus would've never guessed. Werewolf, maybe. But sexy creature of the night? Never. Maybe, he mused, that's what Sileo was… he'd certainly fit the description! Somewhere in the back of his mind, an annoying voice muttered that he was just acting unworried to prevent himself from completely breaking down over his missing friends, but he ignored it cheerfully. What did little mind-voices know, anyways?

"They don't—special case. Not that it's any of your business what the Clave is doing."

"Actually, it is—Jordan Kyle and Maia Roberts, fully trained members of the Praetor Lupus. We're already investigating this case."

"Uh-huh... and you're doing such a fabulous job! Did I hear Mr. Stereotype say that they're taking the Mundanes to _your_ headquarters? Why haven't you contacted them yet, hmmm?"

"We have our reasons, Shadowhunter."

"Well, I think that as the Nephilim officially assigned to this case, we might need to hear these reasons!"

"And I think that as the Guardians officially assigned to this case, we need some proof that you actually are from the Clave and not a couple of the bad guys, sent to do damage-control on your ally's poor kidnapping attempt." Kyle countered smoothly.

"Very well—I am Jonathan Wayland, and these are Simon Lewis and Clarissa Fairchild. We are of the Graymark Institute. Proof enough for you?"

The two werewolves reactions to that was ample evidence that that was indeed proof enough. Kyle and Maia gaped openly at the trio.

Edging closer to Maia, Magnus quietly muttered "Who?"

"They're 3 of the best of this generation. Jonathan was Valentine's step-son, taken in by the Graymark Institute after Valentine's death. That girl, Clarissa, her parents run the institute. Lucian and Jocelyn; they played a major part in bringing down the Circle. And that vampire—he's a Daylighter. A vampire who can walk in the sun. There are rumors that he has the Mark of Cain, so almost no one dares to mess with him. He's been adopted by Lucian and Jocelyn too. The three of them are destined to be running the who Shadow world someday," she muttered back. "We're _way_ lucky to have them here. They're better than most adult Shadowhunters, and much more accepting of Downworlders.

"So, if you're done staring—what exactly happened here?" Jonathan interrupted impatiently, his voice all business.

They explained exactly what had happened, the werewolves even including—albeit reluctantly—the bit about the treacherous Praetor members.

The trio grew grimmer with each word, clearly understanding the seriousness of what was happening. Almost the moment their tale was done, Jonathan had leaped into action. "Clary, we'll need a map of these headquarters—Sileo, Maia, you two help her with that. Simon, patrol the border, take the warlocks with you. See if you recognize any of the kidnappers. Kyle, you're with me—we need a plan. Also, where's the closest holy place? We'll need extra weapons if we're going to take on ex-Cricle members."

"Wait—what about me?" Camille questioned, her voice weak.

"You're injured and it looks like you've lost a lot of blood. You need to sleep. Stay in here, though—you were here; I may need to ask you a few questions."

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

An hour later, they had a plan. The 8 of them would break into two groups: Jonathan, or Jace as the others called him, would lead Maia, Magnus, and Simon into the heart of the building. They would have a glamour—apparently, a spell to make you invisible—thrown over then as they switched off the alarms connected to the massive basement, then headed down to said basement. They would then merge with the other group—Clarissa, or Clary as she'd been asked to be called, Sileo, Kyle, and Ragnor—who would've incapacitated any guards and disabled any protective spells. The first group would proceed down to the dungeons, to find Max, Alec, Will, Jem, and Isabelle while team 2 would search for enough evidence to evict the bad guys. The plan from there was simple: heal up the prisoners as well as they could, grab the evidence, then fight their way out.

Jace had also disappeared for 15 minutes and returned with a massive arsenal of Shadowhunter weapons. Seraph blades, silver dust, holy water, some regular knives for Magnus and the other downworlders.

Magnus accepted the short swords and throwing knife that Jace tossed him, and Clary showed him how to strap sheaths of the swords across his back so that they criss-crossed and stuck out behind his shoulders; easy to reach in case of an attack.

Magnus had never hurt anybody. Well, sure he'd gotten into a few fistfights—nowhere near as many as Will or Ragnor, though- but actual sword fighting? Like, the kind of stuff people could get _killed_ in? No way! But these people had kidnapped his Alec; taken him away and were now doing God knows what kinds of horrible things to him, and there was no doubt in Magnus's mind that today, when all was said and done, he would indeed fight—and he would fight to kill, if that's what it took to get Alec and his siblings out alive.

Of course it wasn't just the Lightwoods that he was scared for—he loved Will and Jem; the 3 of them, plus Camille and Ragnor, had grown up together and were close friends. But if he was being completely honest with himself, he knew that he was more worried about the Lightwood children. Like he had said to Maia, Alec was his soul mate. They weren't just dating. They were friends. They understood each other's little quirks and oddities; they each loved the other at his best and his worst. He honestly believed that the two of them were meant to be together, and that they could survive anything no matter how huge, as long as they had each other. Isabelle, also, was one of his closest friends. He knew that he could count on her for any favor or advice; trust her with every secret. They'd been best friends, the two of them and Camille, for as long as he could remember. And last but not least, Max. His little brother. Max had always called him that: his brother. Even though 2 years had passed since he'd figured out that Magnus wasn't his actual, biological brother or even his step-brother. When Magnus had asked the boy about that, just weeks ago, his reply had been simple: "Because you are my brother. Growing up, you were my brother, and definitions don't matter when it comes to family. Just feelings. And besides," he'd added with a grin, "eventually you _will_ be my 'real' brother… my brother-in-law."

Remembering that still made Magnus smile. Little Max, at just 9 years old, was smarter and a better person than post of the people in the high school! So no… if anyone had hurt the Lightwoods, they would die. He _would_ kill them.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Isabelle was not a happy camper. It had been dark when she'd woken up and still was; her head ached terribly, it was cold, she was thirsty, and she had no idea where she was—suffice it to say that she was a decidedly _un_happy camper.

She wasn't alone. She knew that both of her brothers were in the room with her, and through the bars across the room she could see Will and Jem, but she was the only one who was awake. Camille wasn't there and that scared her—yes, it could mean that she had escaped and was not being held, but it could also mean something much darker and more unpleasant. Something that Izzy could hardly bring herself to think about Princess, her fellow diva. No… Camille couldn't be dead. She just couldn't.

As Isabelle sat there, curled into a ball against she cold, she gradually became aware of someone next to her. She looked down to see Max curled up against her, tears dripping slowly off his nose onto the floor. She didn't speak, just held out her arms and he crawled onto her lap like he used to when he was younger. She kissed the top of his head, cradling him in her arms like a small child, even though he was 9 years old.

"Izzy, I'm scared," he sniffled quietly, his little voice trembling. "I want to go home."

"I know, Boo. I'm scared too. But we're gonna be fine, right? Alec and Will and Jem are here; you know they'll protect you. And remember, Magnus and Ragnor and Cam are coming for us! They'll come crashing right through the ceiling and open the door with the stolen keys, they we'll escape! There'll be guards, of course, but we can handle then—Cam I will spray them in the eyes with our perfume and Will will irritate them to death and they'll have epic eyeliner fights with the twins, but we'll get away unscathed, of course, because Jem will be watching everyone's backs! Then we'll make a mad dash for the door, just barely making it, and once we're all outside and safe, Magnus will get down on one knee and propose to Alec! Of course Alec will say yes and Magnus will sweep him up in his arms and they'll kiss, like something out of an old movie, while we all sit by and watch and cheer. They'll have to wait til they're 18, of course, for the actual wedding but at least they won't have to travel too far, because now they can get married here!" She looked down and saw that Maxie had fallen asleep. A hand rested on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Alec standing there.

"Good story," he murmured. "I like the ending."

For some ridiculous reason this made Isabelle burst into tears. Alec, calm and steady as always, sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms. And there they sat all night like nesting dolls, Alec holding Isabelle, Isabelle holding Max, until the sun rose.

**A/N: *sigh* well that was… happy. Yeah, NOT. Anyways, again… 28 reviews! I already have 10 written! And we don't want Allie and Maxie and Iz stuck here for longer than they have to be, right?**


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: Grrrr… Mondays… band… Ms. Ourso… Ms. Fields… my dad… Tokio Hotel needs to do an interview soon… Clockwork Prince needs to be out… December needs to get its ass over here so I can see my cousins… my hair hates me… so do my teachers… I'm SO not gonna get my 50,000 words… this chapter is gonna suck… I hate writing fight-y, spy stuff… this is probably gonna be depressing… FML…**

They took Alec's car. Jace drove, quietly talking to Clary, sitting next to him, while Sileo and the two werewolves sat in the middle and the twins and Simon climbed into the back, where the vampire promptly proceeded to plug in his earphones and fall asleep.

Thankfully no one had noticed the absences yet—the Lightwood parents were in China on a business trip for the week and Jane and Ron had been told that the Knights were at the library. The foster parents hadn't doubted it—the two boy's both loved to read and at least once a week they would stay at the library all day, until closing time, then hole up in their room for the rest of the day with their new books.

They had left Camille in her bed at home, with instructions to deny knowledge about any of this if anyone asked her. She had tried to insist on coming, but after trying to stand and hardly being able to take 2 steps, she had resigned herself to bed, albeit reluctantly.

"Magnus…" said teen raised his head to look at his brother, whose voice was just a quiet murmur, "Are you sure about this? I mean, what are we doing? We could be about to get ourselves killed!"

"What else can we do, Rags? They have our family! Do you want to just leave them?"

He shook his head. "I'm scared. I mean… what if we're too late? What if Will and Isabelle and Max… what if they're dead?" he didn't wait for a reply, just continued talking, staring past Magnus's shoulder at the window. "I slept with Izzy, you know."

"_What_?" Magnus exclaimed. "WHEN?" This was news to him! Ragnor and _Teddy Bear_?

"Yeah. It was last night. I've liked her for so long, then last night we'd both been drinking… we weren't really drunk but we were both a bit wonky and she'd left her backpack in my room by accident so she came up to get it and she tripped and we just got all tangled up and… stuff just happened. Magnus, she can't get herself killed! Not before we have a chance to talk, to try and make this work! And… oh my God, I just disappeared! She must've thought that I'd just left her, like some she was some kind of little slut I'd picked up for a one-night stand! It was her first time, she was a virgin, she told me so! It should've been perfect, but I just left her and now she's going to die thinking that I just used her then ran off!"

"_No one_ is dying tonight, Ragnor! Isabelle is not going to die, you're not going to die, EVERYONE is making it out of this alive," he replied.

Inside he was fuming, furious with his brother—as far as he knew he was the only one who'd known that Isabelle was still a virgin. Despite the provocative façade that she put on, the girl was a hopeless romantic and he knew how she'd dreamed her first time happening: a picture-perfect, romantic movie scene with a guy she loved, the result of months or years of whispered declarations of love and desperate kisses shared on moonlit balconies and rooftops, then waking up to bright sunshine and the face of her lover smiling next to her. Not some half-drunken mess with someone who was practically her cousin and then disappeared just hours afterwards. But despite his anger, he knew that now was not the time to get into that argument—Ragnor was on the verge of having a panic attack, and they couldn't deal with that right now. There just wasn't time. So, instead of punching his twin in the face like he'd promised himself he'd do to ANYONE who hurt Isabelle, he forced himself to try and comfort him.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Isabelle was relieved when the guard walked in. She hadn't gotten any sleep; she'd just lain there thinking for hours about the night before. About Ragnor. He must think she was so stupid now. She'd known that he was the _king _of one-night stands. That sex meant nothing to him. This was Ragnor Fell; he'd never been in a real relationship! He slept with a different person every week! And yet in her stupid drunken haze she'd gone and let her guard down and she'd let him in. Literally. He'd probably been expecting her to go all weepy on him; she had after all told him that it was her first time. He'd probably just gotten out of there to avoid dealing with her waking up and thinking that they were together, just because of one night. But no, she wasn't stupid—she knew that Ragnor didn't love her. She wasn't angry with him, though—she was angry with herself. She was the one who had gotten drunk and lost her virginity to one of her best friends, without stopping for even a second to think of the consequences.

So yes, at that point she was grateful for any distraction from her self-incriminating thoughts. The guard wordlessly shoved a tray of food through the door then, inexplicably, went to Will and Jem's cell. There was a brief fight, in which Will kicked the man's stomach, leaving him wheezing for breath, and tried to make a break for the door. He only made it a few steps, however, before the guard was back on his feet. He tackled Will, hit him a few times for good measure, then threw Jem and him in the cell with Isabelle and her brothers.

Will glared hostilely at the man's retreating back, muttering unrepeatable things about him. And when something is unrepeatable by _Isabelle's_ standards, you KNOW it's bad.

Jem just sighed at his friend exasperatedly. "_Honestly_, Will, have you _no_ common sense? What _exactly_ were you planning to do if you _had_ gotten free?"

"Well it's obvious, isn't it? We do seem to be in a fairytale; I would've stolen his invisibility cloak and keys, slipped out unnoticed, and then reappeared down here with a dragon that I had miraculously tamed into helping us, and we'd all have escaped from right under their noses like in The Deathly Hallows!"

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Magnus studied the building in front of him critically. He'd been expecting some sort of medieval castle, with towers and battlements and dungeons—not an industrial-looking office building that looked more like what he'd have thought Apple headquarters would've looked like.

"Well it's time to go be heroes, I guess," Ragnor muttered unenthusiastically. He looked slightly intimidated by the huge skyscraper.

"Yeah… good luck. See ya after the massive rescue." 'hopefully' he added silently to himself. Then, on impulse, he hugged his brother—not one of those weird guy hugs, but a real hug. Ragnor stiffened for a second then, to Magnus's surprise, he returned the hug, holding his twin tightly. "I love you, Mags," he murmured. "You have to be careful today, okay? Just… be careful."

Magnus nodded. "I will—and you'd better be careful too. You and Izzy still have to have your dramatic, joyful reunion—remember?"

Then, for like the first time like ever he pulled away from the hug first. "Enough sappy stuff," Magnus said with a grin. "Let's go."

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Just as Izzy's Glee watch hit noon, the door swung open and the guard dude walked in again. There was another man with him this time. The newcomer was massively built, with white-blond hair and cold, colorless eyes. He looked like a dangerous man; definitely not someone to cross. In his hand was a golden goblet, old-fashioned and elegant, adorned with rubies and emeralds that twinkled in the dull light of the cell.

Alec unobtrusively reached over and shook Jem and Max awake; they had been curled up in a corner of the cell, sleeping peacefully. Jem's eyes opened and he followed Alec's nod to the two men, carefully taking in the same things that Alec had noted about the new man—the cruel eyes, the strong build, the air of leadership. And he came to the same conclusion as his friend; this was not a man to mess with. Max, on the other hand, sat up slowly and blinked a few times, his hair even more tousled than usual from his nap. The little boy had always slept a lot; he was like a cat—he could sleep anywhere anytime. Even, apparently, when being held prisoner and when he'd just slept for over 18 hours.

Alec turned his attention back to the man, who was dragging his icy eyes slowly over the little group. His gaze lingered a little longer on Max than on any of the others and both Jem and Alec noticed this and reacted—Jem put an arm around his younger, sleepy friend's shoulder protectively and Alec stared down the man, as if just daring him to lay a finger on Max. He nodded once, thoughtfully, as if somehow satisfied by their reactions. Then he turned to the guard.

"Chain them up," he said, nodding towards the shackles along the back wall.

There was an immediate uproar as 3 guards appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Izzy, Will, and Alec, dragging them to the back wall but chaos ensued as they all struggled and resisted, Jem torn between helping his friends or staying with Max. He didn't have to decide, though, because then the man's voice cut through the racket. "Stop or your young friend here will die."

Everyone froze and twisted around to see what was going on, and they all slowly stopped struggling and let themselves be chained to the wall, think metal cuffs securing their hands and ankles. For the man was holding in his hands a crossbow, and the sights were aimed right at Max.

"Good. Now you two walk to the guards. Blackwell, chain them."

"Yes, Sir Valentine," Blackwell replied with a toothy, sinister smile.

Jem tried to get Max to walk with him, but there were tears streaming down the little boy's face and he couldn't make his legs work right. So Jem knelt down and let Max hop onto his back, where he clung like a little monkey of some sort, and crossed the room. Blackwell roughly grabbed him and dragged his hands back, and then Jem heard a soft click as the cuffs closed around his wrists. The guard did the same to his legs, and then moved on to Max. Or, he tried to. The youngest Lightwood clutched desperately to Jem's back, tears still falling silently, and he wouldn't let go even when the guard pulled on his arm so hard that Jem hard something pop. That's when he finally drew the line. Alec and Iz and Will all seemed incapable of talking—from what he'd heard the guards say, it was because of something called a rune—and he needed to get Max to cooperate before they broke something, He twisted his head around to press his forehead against his younger friend's. "Max, I know you're scared," he whispered, "but I need you to listen. Okay buddy? Just do as the men say. Please?"

Max shook his head vehemently, the pain from his dislocated shoulder causing him to sob softly. "No! Jem, I wanna stay with you! They scare me!"

"I know, Maxie. Look, here. Take my hand. Just keep holding onto my hand; I'll keep you safe. You trust me, right? Everything will be okay, just stay next to me and do what they tell you to."

It took a moment, but then he felt Max's small, warm hand slip into his and the boy's weight disappeared. One of the guards- not Blackwell- snapped the chains tightly into place around Max's tiny hands and feet but Jem managed to keep a hold on his hand.

The thing was, he'd lied. He couldn't keep Max safe.

**A/N: MAX! NO! Dang, this is what I get for writing after putting together a playlist of Most Depressing Songs -.- I am SO sorry, all my readers… and Maxie… and Jem… also, I am SO putting off writing fight scenes cause I SUCK at them! :D Anyone got any tips? Please? Anyways, ARGH! I'm about to update and I, like, JUST got home and now I have to dash off to this high school thing in like 5 minutes! -.-**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: Bleh this is gonna be boring… I wrote this all at school so now I have to type it up -.- Joyyyy. Oh, and I keep wanting to write this in 1****st**** person so I keep writing like a whole page in 1****st**** then catching myself and having to go through and fix it… so how mad you all be if I just switched to writing in 1st person?**

Magnus doubtfully looked down at himself, then at Jace. The Shadowhunter insisted that, because of the glamour, no one could see them—they could only see each other. That would've been easier to believe, however, if the whole group didn't look quite so… solid.

Maia, the only one of them who had ever actually been in the building before, led the way carefully through the pristine halls, their footsteps thankfully muffled by the carpet. Every once in a while they would cross paths with someone else, and when that happened they would all press up against the wall until the trainee, Guardian, or secretary (yes, there were secretaries—people who didn't wish to recruit could take a desk job, dealing with all the paperwork and legal business of the Praetors) was long gone. They did have one close call when, by some freak incident, the rune traced on Jace's skin got rubbed off and they were suddenly visible again (Jace had explained earlier that he had to wear the rune and it would be cast over all of; because they were downworlders, they couldn't directly wear runes without sustaining major injuries). Luckily there was a long lull in passersby at that point though, so they managed to get the glamour back up before anyone saw them.

Because of these infrequent detours and the massive size of the building—it had only elevators, so at each floor they had to wait for someone to come along and press the up button, then sneak inside and squash up, hearts pounding, against the walls of the tiny metal room and pray that they wouldn't be discovered—it took them the better part of 2 hours to make it all the way to the top floor where the alarm and door control systems were located.

Adding to the seemingly endless, heart-pounding journey was that he had not form of communication whatsoever with Ragnor. Magnus knew that he'd been stuck on the team with the less-dangerous job—so far they'd only had to sneak up to the top floor and shut off a few alarms (which Jace and Maia were working on) while the other team had to fight their way to the dungeons. He'd even heard the werewolves mention demons. Like actual, honest-to-God, mythical _demons_. They were the ones who were in real danger, probably right at this very moment.

Distractedly (though _how_ he could be distracted at a time like this, he had NO idea) he wondered if he would know if Ragnor had been hurt. They were twins, after all; he knew that they had a near-magical connection. Almost without thinking, he found himself trying to see through his brother's eyes. For one moment he thought there was something—cold terror in the pit of his stomach, so different from the heart-pounding fear he himself was feeling; the sickening, metallic tang of blood; a piercing pain in his arm—but then it was suddenly gone and Magus was left wondering if he'd sensed anything at all.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Alec watched with horror the scene unfolding before him. His little brother clung desperately to James as if he were a lifeline while the guards hit him and pulled him, digging their fingers into his skin, but still Max wouldn't let go, and Alec could do nothing. No matter how hard he struggled against the restraints he couldn't get loose; he couldn't even talk because they had done something to him and every time he tried he just gagged on the words. At last Jem twisted around and said something to Max, and after a short argument the little boy let go of his older friend and allowed himself to be shackled, his face wet with tears. Alec didn't, however, miss the way that his brother clutched Jem's hand, as if as long as he didn't let go he'd be fine. Valentine, as he now knew the man was called, watched he whole thing, eyes missing absolutely nothing. The 4 guards said nothing; they seemed to be waiting for Valentine to speak. It was painfully obvious that he was the leader and that they were all terrified of him.  
>It took what felt like years, but finally he spoke. "The 5 of you have been chosen for a great honor, one that you certainly do not deserve—but one that I shall, nevertheless, bestow on you. Today you shall each undergo a test, and those of you whom pass shall be reborn—as the new, elite generation of Shadowhunters."<p>

Slowly he approached Will who eyed him threateningly, clearly considering causing serious damage if the man dared to touch him. Valentine ignored this and reached for Will's arm, rolling up the sleeve carefully. The action made Alec think of Voldemort and he shivered. From his belt Valentine withdrew a small knife and slashed at the teenager's wrist, opening a large gash. He put the ornate golden goblet under the arm and let the blood flow into it.

"Stele!" Valentine called, putting out his hand. Blackwell hurried forward and held a wand-like item out to his leader. The man plucked the thing from Blackwell's hand and began to trace a design on Will's arm with it, the skin rippling and burning around where the silver tip touched it. The dark-haired boy tried to pull his arm away, clenching his teeth against the pain, but Valentine held it tightly and continued to draw, occasionally pausing to pour some of the blood from the ornate goblet over the angry red skin. It didn't look like blood, though—it had taken on a golden color, like paint, and was thicker and smoother than blood.

Will's struggles began to get more and more desperate and shortly after he moved onto the second arm, Alec's friend's body began to spasm and jerk. His eyes rolled up into his head and he gagged and choked on involuntary screams. Valentine continued tracing the intricate tattoos, just holding the boy's arm more firmly to prevent him from moving. Finally he lifted the wand from Will's pale, sweaty skin and the boy fell to the floor of the dungeon, completely still except for the faint rise and fall of his chest. Valentine splashed the last of the blood mixture over the boy, then wordlessly stepped over to Alec.

The process was repeated again—the slashing of his wrist, the rippling and burning of his skin as the intricate designs were applied, then the gradually worsening condition until, at last, the last mark was finished and he collapsed.

Izzy's turn!

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Magnus's heart was in his throat, quite literally, as they took the small private elevator from the top floor down to the basement. Seriously—he was having trouble breathing. For once, though, the fates seemed to be smiling down on him because the trip was short and then they were at the door to the basements. Jace drew a small rune of the door, and a window appeared. Through it, they could see the other 5.

Jace quietly opened the door and slipped inside, motioning for the others to follow. "Clary," he called softly and she spun round, Seraph blade raised. When she saw who it was, she ran to him, flinging her arms around her neck. "Oh my God, Jace—what took so long? We thought that they'd caught you!"

As he explained Magnus looked around the rest of the hall; Kyle kissed Maia passionately then they broke apart, still joined by their hands, speaking quietly to each other. Simon and Sileo slouched awkwardly in a corner—Simon Magnus felt sorry for; he was the classic underappreciated best friend, shunned for the boyfriend. He had been worried sick about Clary but now that they were back together she had eyes only for Jace; Simon seemed used to this though. He didn't look resentful, just disappointed.

Just as he became aware of someone behind him, that someone spoke: "Ignoring your big brother, are we? I am offended—you should've been worried sick; I could have been killed!" Ragnor said in mock-hurt voice.

"Hey, maybe then I could get the bathroom for more than 5 minutes in the mornings—it takes time to achieve this level of fabulousness, you know!"

"Oh, come on… you take _at least_ half an hour. Daily."

"And you're any better, Mr. Perfect Hair?"

"As a matter of fact I am—at least I don't shed glitter everywhere like I'm a fairy!"

Magnus gasped in "horror", then leapt at his brother, tackling him. Immediately, a twin wrestling match ensued.

If fact they had each been terrified for each other. They'd never admit it though—both boys were extremely affectionate towards other people; they had no problem expressing their feelings for people in either words or actions. Actually, both of them were most happy when in some sort of physical contact with a friend or family member.

Towards each other, though, was a different matter entirely. This was probably, at least partially due to the fact that as children, their psycho parents had seen their extremely close relationship and read too far into it, eventually becoming scared of it. They had punished the children for any outward signs of affection- even a smile at each other would be met with blows. Things like hugging would often be discouraged with electric shocks and being held under water for extended periods of time. They had been taken by child services when they were 7, after their mother hung herself and their father disappeared mysteriously. Both naturally cheerful and optimistic, they had recovered well—especially Magnus. There were some scars, though, that ran too deep to be scratched off, even after a decade, and that was one of them.

All too soon, all the updates were update-y, and it was time to charge off again. The groups re-separated and each took a different hallway—Clary's team took the one labeled "File Storage", while the group that Magnus was with headed down the unlabeled one.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Isabelle fought back terrified tears as Valentine stepped away from her brother. She knew that she was next. She inched back, pressed as close to the wall as she could, crouching low to the ground as if he would not notice her if she made herself as tiny as possible. Of course, he did. He stopped right in front of her, staring down contemptuously at her.

"Get up," he said in a cold voice. There was no emotion in his colorless eyes. She just curled up tighter, too frightened to move.

Valentine grabbed her arm and jerked Isabelle to her feet, causing her to let out a muffled, pained sob. His hand moved down to her wrist, fingers circling around it firmly, then there was a sharp pain as the knife torn her wrist open. He let the blood drip into the same old-fashioned cup that had already held the blood of Alec and Will and when the flow had begun to slow a little, he withdrew the wand thing—the stele, it had been called—from his belt. This, she knew, was when the real pain would start. She managed to jerk her arm away in a panicked fit but Valentine only snatched it again, adding a hard slap across her face to her growing list of aches and pains.

Then he began to draw. The first contact wasn't too bad and she, naively, began to think that maybe, just maybe, she could get through this. By the end of the first mark, though, she knew that that hope had been foolish. The stele was like a hot poker being dragged through her flesh, leaving her skin boiling and burning. Every ting dot was agony and before long she thought that she must scream or die.

Valentine tut-tutted regretfully. "I don't think this one is going to make it—only 3 runes and already she is weakening. Pity, really. Her friends did so well."

Something about his words, mixed with the brief absence of pain—for he had stopped drawing to speak- gave her strength—strength, she was sure, born from anger. Who was he to say how strong or weak she was? He knew nothing of her! She was Isabelle Lightwood, she could hold her own against anyone in her school, despite being younger than them and a girl! She was just as strong as Will and Alec; if they could survive it then so could she.

That was her last lucid thought, for then the glowing tip touched her skin again and all there was was pain. But at each finished rune, when the stele was removed and Valentine paused to splash some of the blood onto the design—it was stung, but was cold and a welcome escape from the scorching heat—that thought wormed it's way back into her head: "I am strong. If they can make it, so can I. I am strong. If they can make it, so can I."

Those were the words she chanted to herself as her flesh burned and her muscles spasmed and she choked on silent screams and sobs. She chanted them until, halfway through his marking her second arm, the pain became so much that she lost all presence of mind. Her heart pounded in her chest, her lings screamed for air that no longer would come to her, her vision went black and she could no longer see Valentine's pale, long-fingered hand scorching the marks into her skin, but the pain—the pain remained until, at last, he finished the last mark and everything disappeared.

**A/N: Crap, it's gonna be a close squeeze for my 50,000 words… good thing I'm doing a 7-hour lock-in either this weekend or next! Also, I'm going to see Breaking Dawn with Ember Chipmunk… has anyone seen it yet? How was it? Anyways… night night time for the narwhal who's only gotten like 24 hours of sleep in the last week! Bye byez!**


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: You have no idea how tempted I am to make this a whole chapter of fluffy bunnies and narwhals skipping through fields of skittles… actually, you know what? That is what this chapter shall be!**

"So, Rags," Magnus said to the churtle **(1)** waddling along beside him, "How goes things out on the sea of skittles?"

"Terrible, my fair lad! Terrible, I do say—King Cookie Monster has commanded that Fat Old Lady Fields accompany us on our shenanigans!"

"Why, Fat Old Lady Fields, you say? I thought Lady Isabelle, the mighty Bella Slayer **(2) **had thrown her in the Dungeon of the Childs **(3) **for all eternity! MWAHHAAHAHAHAHA!"

"The childs… she was so terrible… they all ran away screaming for Sir Jamie **(4)** to save them!"

"Well, did he?"

"Why yes, he most certainly did… then sent Penny to give Dezzy a blow-job in front of her! **(5)"**

"Chrip chirp chirp chirp!" giggled the birdie, ruffling his lemon-scented feathers. "Why oh why oh why oh why isn't Omer here yet?"

Just then, a teenage girl holding two pink and yellow pompoms appeared, her long brown hair in pigtails. "Omer girls, Omer girls, we're more fun that any ninja squirrel! We make some sound, we run around, we never can sit down! March is crazy, March is fun, March is the time to run, run, run! To the school where it all ends- Though sometimes that's where it all begins! Time to go, time to roll Time to perform our show, our hearts pound but we never frown- For the show must always go on! We dash to the gym, doubts invade; What if the win is not made? Omer's there, Zebraca too- Oh what, oh what will we do? They call our group, our stomachs loop... How will it all end?" she squealed in a valley girl voice, jumping around and waving around the pompoms like an EXTREMELY blonde cheerleader. **(6)**

"Come on, Narwhal Buddy! Zebraca! Omer!"

3 more characters appeared—a narwhal with practically perfect blond hair, rainbow gauges, white skinny jeans, a Bob Marley t-shirt, and an Invader Zim hoodie, followed by a… thing. It looked vaguely like a cat, but had zebra-striped fur in some places and was all multi-colored. Lagging a little ways behind them was a massive raccoon wearing a red t-shirt. The narwhal tackle-hugged her, then they zoomed off. Literally… they all screeched 'zoom!' then disappeared.

"So how's Allie?" Ragnor asked conversationally, as if nothing odd had just occurred

"Oh, fine… he's right here!" Magnus replied, pulling the golden necklace he wore out of his shirt. There was a small globe on it, and in the globe… was Alec.

"He was being a bad person so he's in time-out!" he explained brightly.

"Awwwww, poor wittle Awwie! Rags is sowwy, yes he is!"

Mini Alec stared at the churtle for a moment, then dropped dead inside the orb.

"HOLY SHNITZZLE YOU KILLED MY BABY! HOW DARE YOU? RAWRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

And with that, he turned into a dinosaur and chased Ragnor all the way to the Battle of the Butter **(7)**

Bear ran up to Alec, followed by Bear. "Wassup?" Bear barked

"Yeah, wassup in da land of da Allie-poo?" Bear agreed.

"Oh, nothing. Getting trapped in globes, canoodling with Tomi behind Kenzie and Magnus's backs... the usual."

"Huh. Sounds fun," Bear replied

"DUDE YOU'RE CHEATINF ON YOUR BOYFRIED WITH MY SOUL-PERSON'S BOYFRIEND? WHAT THE FLYING PURPLE TACOS? GILGAMESH, FLUFFALUPHAGUS, COME ON! WE'VE GOTTA GO SAVE MACKENZIE!" Bear yelled.

Two spiders, both shimmery and black and purple and orange appeared and followed Bear away.

"Urgh, I better run too… the twins'll need some help keeping them from turning Tom into a giant banana. See ya!" Bear said, then darted off after the others.

"I wonder where Moo Moo Kazoo is…" Alec mused out loud as he watched the dog skip away, wondering who Kenzie was and why he was cheating on Magnus with her boyfriend.

"Candles are pretty… hey, maybe Moo Moo Kazoo is buying some candles! Welp, off to Yankee Candle it is!"

A spring in his neon flip-flop clad step, he began to walk to Yankee Candle.

Then, suddenly, he was in his grandparent's car. With his grandparents. In the middle of the night. With a spotlight in one hand. He quickly became aware of police sirens behind then, and his grandpa cursed and pulled over. "Quick, Alec, hide the vodka! And the gun! Shit, Grandma, where's my license… CRAP IT'S STILL SUSPENDED!"

Then Alec looked behind him and shrieked. "DUDE! It's that creepy serial killer cop who cuts off people's ears then carefully pokes their brains with hot pokers, but not enough to kill then for like days! DRIVE!"

He immediately puled the car into drive and they took off back to the campsite, but when they got there… OMFG! The cop was waiting! "Pedro! Family! Pymie! HELP!"

A family of 3 stone turtles came running up, a snake-y, scale-y head snaking up behind them. The cop screamed and ran, but not before his own ear had been eaten by Pymie and the turtles had crapped all over his car. **(8)**

Then he was back in Yankee Candle, getting high off of candles smelling of coffee and spices and hazelnuts and cinnamon and apples and yummy, flaky pie crust and vanilla and ginger bread and cedar wood, because those smells all reminded him of his boyfriend, who always smelled yummy like fall time and Thanksgiving and Christmas and warmth, which was fitting because for Alec, he was warmth—the warmth of love and safety and happiness.

Om. Nom. Nom.

"OMFG IT'S A CARE BEAR!" some little kid screeched loudly. Then dino-Magnus appeared.

"CARE BEAR? WHERE? WHICH ONE? COME ON ALLIE WE'RE GETTING PICTURES!"

"OMG IT'S CHEER BEAR AND LOVE-A-LOT BEAR! SQUEEEEE!"

He grabbed Alec's hand, dragging him to the front of the lines forming near the two bears. They were the size they were in the movies and indeed it was Cheer and Love-a-Lot; there were both pink and Cheer had a rainbow tummy symbol while Love has overlapping hearts. Yes, he knew their names and sizes and what they looked like—Magnus made him watch the movies and shows! The Barbie and My Little Pony ones too!

Maggie dashed up to the care bears, miraculously a human again, and grabbed them both in a hug. "OMFG GUYS I LOVE YOU TWO! YOU'RE SO CUTE AND SWEET AND FLUFFY AND CARING AND OMGEEEEE! I LOVE YALL!"

Applejack, Desert Rose, Gem Blossom, Pinkie, Sew-and-So, and Skywishes then showed up. Alec squealed loudly, running up to hug them—Desert Rose and Applejack and Sew-and-So were his favorites! Soon he was zooming around on the ponies and Magnus was dancing with the bears and getting his own tummy symbol tattoo, a rainbow heart with Alec's name in purple, then there was a mini-battle between the ponies and the bears, which the newly arrived Sesame Street charries won!

"Moo says the cow."

"Hmmmm?"

"The cow. It says moo… didn't you know that? You silly goose!"

"But… I'm not a goose! *insert pout-y face here* I'm a stunningly fabulous warlock! And do geese sparkle? That's right, NO! I didn't THINK so! Therefore I cannot be a goose. *Billa nod*"

"Well… cows still say moo."

"But I don't."

"Well… you might! You might be a moo-moo kitty!"

"OBVIOUSLY I am not a moo-moo kitty… they're all boring and black and white! I, on the other hand, and clearly a walking rainbow. So RAWR."

"But… COWS COULD BE RAINBOW COLORED! IT'S POSSIBLE! LIKE, IF YOU PAINTED ONE!"

"OMFG THAT'S WHAT I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS! A RAINBOW COLORED COW!"

"OMFG AWESOME IDEA! SO THEM CHAIRMAN MEOW WILL HAVE A FELLOW KITTY TO PLAY WITH!"

"But… he has swim-swim kitties for friends! The neon green ones!"

"Hon, the swimmy-kitties aren't his friends. He eats them. You turn annoying people into neon green fishies and feed them to Meow."

"DUDE seriously? I do?"

"Yes, Magnus. You do. '-.-"

"Oh…"

"Yeah…"

"So…"

"So…"

"This s awkward…"

"Isn't it? Like, can we change the subject?"

"Isn't Boo Boo Stewart, like, just a _doll_? He is adorable!"

"Who the hell is Boo Boo Stewart?"

"*gasp* Alec! He's a werewolf! From Twilight!"

"Oh…"

*Wakes up*

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

They had just started sifting through the third box of files when Sileo froze. "The others—they're in trouble," he said calmly. "You may want to go find them before it's too late."

Clary didn't stop to question him on how he knew this. "Okay, return everything to the way it was. Grab anything you found, and lets go save them."

Barely 3 minutes later she threw the glamour back over them and then they were out the door, retracing their steps to the hallway.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Maia, her enhanced werewolf hearing a major advantage in their current situation, heard the footsteps first. "Wall," she hissed and they all darted back against the walls of the long hallway. Seconds later, he could hear them too—muffled but multiple; at least 3 or 4 people. They came closer and closer, until then they stopped—right in front of the group. They all held their breath, perfectly still, until someone spoke—it was Clary. "Guys! Unglamour, I need to see you!"

Jace deactivated the rune, and they all appeared at the same time that Clary's team did. "The others are in trouble. Does everyone have their weapons?"

They all checked, then nodded in confirmation. "Okay, lets go then."

The 8 teens took off down the hall, all caution forgotten, their footsteps thudding on the stone floor. It got colder and darker as they ran, but at least they were sure they were going the right way—there were no branches.

At last they came to a heavy iron door, solid except for one small barred window. Magnus, being the tallest by far, stretched up and managed to peer inside the room—and what he saw frightened him beyond words him. There were 4 men there, all sporting the black marks. There, perfectly still on the floor were Will, Alec, and Isabelle, their angry red skin covered with the same marks. One of the men had his head bent over Jem, drawing a symbol, while Jem writhed and clenched his teeth in pan. Max was curled into a tiny ball, chained to the wall like the others, and it looked like he was muttering to himself, but one tiny hand was clutching Jem's pale, black-marked hand and Jem holding onto Max just as tightly as Max was holding onto Jem. It looked like he had no intention of ever letting go of the boy.

"LET GO OF HIM YOU BASTARD!"Magnus screamed, fear making him forget all caution, but it was of no importance—the room must've been sound-proof, for no one even looked up.

"What are you doing? Quiet, someone will find us!" Jace hissed, pulling Magnus away from the window to peer through himself. When he stepped away, his face was pale. "He's changing them. He has the mortal cup—we have to hurry."

The two Shadowhunters set about trying to get through, but were having little success; there were strong runes holding the doors. Magnus and Ragnor watched through the tiny window, unable to tear themselves away. Jem just kept getting worse and worse as more marks were added, and the 3 black-haired teens unmoving on the floor didn't stir—whether they were dead or just unconscious, they didn't know.

Jace and Clary worked as fast as they could, but before they had managed to break through Jem was gone, dead or out like the others, and Max was next. The young child kept gripping Jem's hand and sobbing desperately and finally the man doing the marking seemed to call the guards. It took all 3 of them to force the child to stand up, and the fourth to keep Max's left arm away while the blond man held onto his right arm with an iron grip, and carefully, oh so slowly, touched te tip of the wand he was using to make the marks—a stele, Magnus seemed to remember Jace calling it—to his skin. At the first contact Max's eyes flew open and his mouth gaped in a tortured, pain-filled scream. He thrashed and jerked, trying to escape the burning.

As Magnus screamed at the Shadowhunters to get the door open, he felt something he had never felt before—a terror in his heart, an icey coldness in his stomach, a burning underneath his skin, and somehow he knew what it was—hate. The feeling got more scared and colder and hotter as he watched. He was still unable to look away, his currently confused logic somehow told him that Max was suffering through this all alone, and that the least he could do was watch, try to send courage, hope that the boy would look up and see his friend's cat eyes and know that help was coming.

It looked like the marks were affecting Maxie worse than they had Jem, and just as Max reached the point that looked about the same as right before Jem had passed out, 2 things happened simultaneously: Max, too, collapsed, and the door swung open.

**A/N: Well… I tried to make it happy… did it work? :D Oh, and I am so sorry I didn't reply to everyone's reviews… life has been crazy for the past few days; hopefully I'll get back on track soon.**

**Yes, a churtle. Invention of my mother's and mine… a churro eating turtle who has maracas in one hand, is wearing a sombrero, and has a birdie perched on his head. And they both say 'chirp'. He also has a pet alligator whom he walks with a polka-dotted leash and the alligator has purse handles on his back... Like, you know, The Lady with the Alligator Purse? Yeah XD**

**Yep, Twilight reference… I dislike Bella :D**

**Another invention of me and my mother… we were being ridiculous while watching Bones last night, and decided that they shpuld stick criminals in a room with a bunch of sugar-hyped 5-year-old boys and tell the boys to do their worst… then if the criminal tries to retaliate, they get tased!**

**Jamie Kilstein, standup comedian and co-host of Citizen Radio… I. Fucking. Love him.**

**Just… don't… ask…. It's from the aforementioned Citizen Radio, the Halloween episode… lololololol**

**That was literally what I did for my Odyssey of the Mind try-outs on Thursday XD XD It's a good thing I love Sensei and Ms. Eckert (the judge-y people) or I would've never been able to do it!**

**Dr. Seuss reference! :D**

**True. Flippin. Story. I swear to God this happened to me over the summer while camping in Ohio with my grandparents! IT WAS HIARIOUS!**


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: Heyyyyy… okay, so I have no school for the next 5 days and I'm only half way there (SING A LONG TIME! *When ENOUGH is ENOUGH that's when you KNOW that you're halfway there! THIS IS the point where we stand up, now THIS IS the point where we take back the THINGS that are keeping us from being free!*) so expect MANY updates! XD Anyways, on to chapter 13! (Urgh, perfect number for this chapter… lots of unluckiness D: )**

_**Last chapter:**_

_2 things happened simultaneously: Max, too, collapsed, and the door swung open. _

_**Now:**_

__The 5 men in the room spun around, and they all leaped into action. Seconds later, bedlam had ensued.

Sileo and Jace were locked in combat with a man with blond hair, but it looked more like a dance—the 3 males were spinning and swooping, carefully avoiding one another while trying to lay a blow of their own. They all looked about evenly matched, but facing both Jace and Sileo, the blond man was slowly losing ground. Nearby, Maia and Kyle were in their wolf forms, tormenting 3 of the guards and the fourth guard was fighting with Simon… or, more, being attacked by Simon. The guard hadn't yet landed a single hit, for Simon would dart forward to get in a punch or kick ,then dart back to the shadows before the guard could see him, while the man whirled around and around trying to catch him.

Ragnor, Clary, and Magnus avoided the fighting and ran to the 5 teens laying still on the stone floor. Magnus felt tears well up in his eyes as he saw that they were indeed alive, but the tears were gone almost as quickly as they appeared; for then he saw Max. Thw child looked like death himself—there was no blood in his white face, but Magnus could see why—that blood was flowing freely from the dark marks inked into his skin, his blood soaking the floor.

He heard a sharp intake of breath beside him as Clary, too saw the damage. "Jace!" she yelled in a panicked tone as she and Magnus tried desperately to stem the bloodflow. The golden boy looked up from his fight and nodded. He caught Sileo's eye and glanced towards Max, and Sileo muttered something. Jace muttered again then in one smooth movement he ducked under his opponent's next blow, rolling across the floor to Max, while Sileo caught the man's fist and twisted his arm until something snapped.

Jace's eyes were grim as he examined Max. "He's turning into a Forsaken— we're too late,' he whispered tightly to Clary, carefully brushing a piece of hair away from her sweaty forehead.

"There's nothing you can…?" she questioned desperately, her throat catching in her voice as she looked down at the broken child. He just shook his head.

Ragnor came and crouched beide them. He looked cold; Magnus knew what he was doing—when they were younger, when their parents would punish Magnus to get to him, he would do the same thing; just cut himself off from the world and convince himself that he didn't care.

"What's a Forsaken?"

"It's the… creature that is created when a Mundane cannot handle marks. A mindless, tortured thing that will live forever unless it is killed," Clary whispered.

The words didn't register in Magnus's mind as he cradled Max in his arms, the boy just barely breathing. Quickly he became aware of someone saying his name.

"Magnus, I need you to put Max down." Jace said in a calm, controlling voice. Slowly Magnus did as he said. Max twitched, his eyes fluttered, and then a second later there was a blade in Jace's hand—then the blade came down, and Max was perfectly, completely still.

His eyes, always so gentle and innocent before, were now staring straight ahead, and they were full of very different thing now: pain and rage. Vaguely he heard Ragnor screaming at someone, saw Clary holding him back from Jace, saw the still bodies of the 5 men piled in one corner. Max's body had somehow ended up back in his arms, but the boy wasn't moving… why wasn't he moving? He should've woken up by now! "Max… Max, time to get up! You'l be late for school!" he warned the boy. Someone came and took Max then, and the next thing Magnus remembered was waking up in Alec's house.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

It was the next day, and Magnus wished he had some alcohol. Right now, a shot of _anything _high in alcohol sounded good, anything that could knock him out for a few hours. Anything that could make him forget. But unfortunately, he couldn't find any in the hpuse.

He leaned back against the hallway as he once again recounted his day. He had woken up earlier that morning, and Clary had gently explained what had happened: the blond man, Valentine, had turned Jem, Will, Isabelle, and Alec into Shadowhunters. He had tried to do the same to Max but the bpy had been too young and weak, and had been in the process of tranfroming into a monster when Jace killed him. Despite this knowledge, all he could think of were Max's eyes after he had died, that completely terrifying mix of rage and pain he had seen.

Rage and pain… they weren't Max. They just weren't. But he just couldn't get those eyes out of his head. Then an image flashed through his mind: Max slipping into Alec's room one night after a nightmare, carrying one of his manga books. He had shooken Alec and Magnus (who had stayed the night) awake and had crawled into bed with them, sadnwitched between the two older boys as they read him the odd Japanese book until all three of them fell asleep. This memory was followed by tears: huge, racking sobs that left him barely able to breathe. He became aware of a strong pair of amrs holding him tightly, and tears wetting his shirt and he breathed in the coconut and chocolate and Axe scent of Alec.

Finally in the middle of a long silence, Magnus spoke. "Are you okay, Alec?"

Alec shook his head. "I-I keep thinking of how he used to come climb in bed with me… or, well, usually us, whenever he had a nightmare. Magnus, I was supposed to protect him!"

"No one could've protected him, baby. The rest of you were out and by the time we'd gotten there it was too late. It wasn't any of our faults; it was Valentine."

They both immediately quieted and wiped their eyes as Isabelle's door opened, the older-sibling instinct kicking in. They knew that they had to hold it together for Iz.

The black-haired girl wordlessly marched past them to the bathroom, her arms full of makeup. Of course—fashion and makeup were like _therapy_ to that girl. More than likely she would be in there for at least 2 hours, so the two boys silently set about making breakfast.

Everyone else had awoken and they were all eating—no one having spoken a word since Magnus and Alec's discussion earlier that morning—when Isabelle reappeared. She looked… dismal. Her long hair was wet from a shower and her eyes looked red and puffy, this just emphasized by her pale face. She wore no makeup, and her only jewelry adorning her plain black dress was her silver and gold multi-paneled locket. She nodded to everyone, then sat down on the couch, where she urled up and turned on the tv, setting it to one of those competition shows—American Idol or the X-factor or something.

"Iz, come eat something," Alec coaxed gently, exchanging a concerned look with Magnus.

The girl shook her head. "I'm not hungry," she whispered, her throat raw and hoarse.

"Bear-y boo **(A/N: XD XD Oh crazy nicknames, how I love you) y**ou haven't eaten anything in two days…" Magnus put in worriedly.

"Mags, leave her alone," Camille murmured.

The two Divas stared eachother down for a long few seconds, then Magnus nodded and looked away. "Thanks," Cam whispered.

It was only once they dishes were washed, dried and put away and everyone was sitting in the living room that a knock came at the door and 6 people entered.

3 guesses as to who it is!

Squirtle, Charmander, Bulbasaur, Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup?

Nope!

Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles, Cordelia, and Oz?

Nuh-uh!

Well them it must be… the Power Rangers! Kimberly, Zach, Jason, Billy, Trini and Tommy!

FAIL!

Awwww, okay… fine… it was Simon, Sileo, Jace, Clary, Kyle, and Maia. Obviously.

Anyways… Isabelle was the first to speak. "Undo it," she commanded as soon as she saw them.

"Undo _what_?" Jace asked in bewilderment.

"This!" she replied, gesturing to the black marks on her arms. "I want them gone!"

The little group looked at each other for a second. "Isabelle, we can't. It's irreversible… you're a Shadowhunter now. And speaking of that, you _all_ need training. Camille, you can stay here, but the six of you do."

"And where exactly would we go for this training?"

"We… don't know yet. Normally, Magnus and Ragnor would go to the Praetor Lupus, but obviously that is a no-go now. And the rest of you would come to the nearest Enclave for training, but we can't do that either. That man who marked you, that was Valentine. I don't know how or why he's here, but that was him and I noticed some of the guards, they were Shadowhunters that I know."

"Oh, you don't know… that's just wonderful!" she said sarcastically.

"Look, sweetheart, right now we're just as lost as you are!"

"JACE! Not the time! We can figure this all out later, but there's something else we need to do first…"

The warriors all looked uncomfortable, while the teens were bewildered. 'What?" Cam asked.

"Max. We need to bury him," Isabelle said quietly.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Alec didn't know where they had found the clearing, but it was perfect. Deep in the woods, quiet, peaceful. The Shadowhunter had put wards up around it so that no one else could locate it, but they could find it easily. One by one they each stepped forward and tossed a shovelful of earth over the small body, wrapped in a Spiderman blanket. Almost everyone in the clearing—with the exception of Jace, Kyle, and Sileo—had tears in their eyes as Max's siblings build a small shrine to him over the grave, a collection of his favorite book and toys, a Beyblade character birthday cake candle, and his favorite stuffed animal. It was a worn, sad-looking bunny, it's ears barely holding on after years of being carried around by the little boy and it's soft, silky chocolate-colored fur had lost its sheen and it's fluffiness. Bwana, he had always called it—as a toddler, he hadn't been able to pronounce bunny, so he had called it Bwana, and the name had stuck. It had been a birthday present from Isabelle and Alec.

Will didn't leave Jem's side the whole time. Jem was blaming himself for Max's death—he was the one who had convinced the boy to cooperate, he had been the last one to be marked, he had promised Max that he would protect him. But he hadn't.

Ragnor and Isabelle had both shut down, and hovered on the edge of the group, not speaking a word. Camille stayed near them to make sure they were ok—or at least as ok as they could be—so it was Alec and Magnus who did most of it, with Will and Jem helping a bit. The other 6 mostly just stayed out of their way.

Alec and Magnus stayed close together the whole time too. Both of them possessed the strong older brother mindset, and felt like they ad to be strong for everyone else. Having each other near by gave them the courage to hold it together instead of just breaking down.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

'Why?' Magnus thought as he looked down at the small grave. 'Why him? Why Max?'

In every book he had ever read, it was always the one who most deserved a happy ending whom ended up dead. Johnny from The Outsiders. Rue from The Hunger Games. Dobby from Harry Potter. By now he'd come to expect it in stories… but in real life? It was more than just a plot twist—albeit a sad one—then. It was life-changing. And not in the good way.

Max was his baby brother. He'd been there, the day that Max had been born; he had been out at the movies with Maryse, Izzy, Cam, and Alec and he'd gotten to see and hold the newborn baby before even Robert, away on a business trip, had. Max had taken his first steps towards he and the other two Divas. Magnus's name had been the kid's 3rd word, after "Book" and "Alec". He remembered being there one day during Max's 2nd grade year, when the little boy had come home crying because for the first time in his life he had seen how cruel kids could be, when a group of them ganged up on him for having a gay brother. Just a year later sweet little Max had gotten in fight and been suspended for 3 days; Magnus had come with Alec to pick the 8 year old up from school and as far as he knew he was still, to this day, the only one who knew the reason for the fight: the other boy had called Magnus a disgusting fag and a whore. He'd almost cried after learning that, not because of the words—he had long ago learned to brush off comments like that—but because they'd been spoken to his baby brother, because of him. Because he couldn't protect Max from all the hate in the world. Because Max cared enough about him to get into a fight and get into endless trouble, sit through endless lectures, because of him. And now he was the ultimate failure as a brother—he had let his baby brother die. He was sat there and watched the light leave his young eyes, doing nothing.

He managed to make it through the rest of the funeral but as soon as they got back to the Lightwood house he escaped with Alec to his room. They curled up together on the bed, looking for all the world like two scared, lost children, and—both wishing that Max would suddenly creep into the room and curl up between them, like he had done so many times before- let their emotions out for the first time since Max's death.

**A/N: Um… yeah… Idk about the thing with the Power Rangers and stuff; I was bored and wanted to Google something XD Therefore I Googled famous groups of 6 people :p Anyways… I cried writing Max's funeral D: And I stole the Bwana thing from my little bro… he used to LOVE bunnies but that was how he'd say it :D Oh, and last thing… with that last line, I know they had their little moment earlier, but that was more just shock and bewilderment. Like, they hadn't quite processed it yet… but by the bedroom thing, it was REAL. Max was really gone and Alec was really a Shadowhunter and Magnus was really a warlock and their whole worlds were really falling down :'(**


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N: Pecan pie… turkey… cranberry-orange stuff… mashed potatoes… OMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM! Is it Thanksgiving yet? :p**

Eventually, their strength and spirit recharged from being together and not having to worry about everyone else for a few hours, they headed downstairs. "Where's everyone else?" Alec asked Clary, Jace, Maia, Kyle, Sileo, and Simon, whom were all in the living room talking quietly.

"They've all ran off to the second floor." Kyle answered.

"Good—they must be in the guest rooms. Okay, look. We need to know exactly what is going on and what needs to happen now. And it needs to be quick, because I want this sorted out before the others decide to join us."

"Well if you want it fast, we need some specific questions to answer."

"What happens now? Will this training be like the Praetor Lupus, where we have to leave? What will… we tell our parents? Not just about us… but about Max."

"We are, so far, unsure. The Fairchild Institute is not involved in this, of that we are sure, but it wouldn't be safe for you to go there for training—too many people coming and going," Jace answered.

"Kyle and I know some things about warlocks and their magic from our training, so we could teach you the very basics, but at some point you will need a proper mentor," added Maia.

"And-" Jace was cut off from the sound of a Beach Boys song blaring from Kyle's phone.

"Oh shit," he muttered as he saw who the text message was from. As he read it, his face grew pale. "Oh God…"

"Let me see!" Magnus demanded. Kyle passed him the phone.

"It's from Sam, one of our friends in the Praetor…"

_Hey man, you okay? I've been hearing some pretty crazy shit about your last mission, and they just ordered a massive mind-wipe for this group of, like, 10 kids from around there… you know anything about it?_

"What the hell is a mind-wipe?"

"It basically erases you… parents, teachers, everyone who ever know you… they'll just forget. All of your personal things not with you will disappear. All records, everything… it'll take about 12 hours before it sets in, though. We need to get out of here before then."

"What about you all?"

"We'll be fine; it just applies to humans. Camille should be ok too because she'll be with you. But seriously, we need to be out of here soon. Get everyone up and tell them to pack—we're heading to the city."

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

They just barely made it out. Less than half an hour after everything had been packed, squashed into Alec's car and a rented van, the spell took effect. They were all hit at the same—a striking queasiness, a splitting headache. They slowly faded but stopped as soon as the pain became bearable, and lingered right there. Thankfully Maia had expected this and promptly handed out ginger ales and ibuprofen, which the group accepted gratefully. They stopped just after dark at a hotel. They rented 3 rooms for the 12 of them—Sileo had disappeared somewhere along the way— because there were 2 beds and 2 couches in each room. The rooms were quickly split up; Alec, Magnus, Izzy, and Camille, Kyle, Maia, Clary, and Jace, and Simon, Will, Jem, and Ragnor.

It was one in the morning when Isabelle's cell rang. Camille, laying next to her, twitched—they had been watching Twilight, and were both just too sleepy to move when the movie had ended—but didn't wake up, so Iz flipped it open. It was a text from Ragnor. _We need to talk… meet me on the balcony of the room next to yours; no one's in it._

She sighed; she was exhausted and angry and just didn't want to deal with more heartbreak right now. _Rags, I'm tired and I don't want to deal with this right now. We were drunk. It was stupid. I don't think that we're dating or anything, so can we just forget it? _

She didn't even wait for a reply as she shut off the phone then shut off her brain and fell back asleep.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

By some unspoken agreement, Magnus, Alec, and Simon all headed to Clary's room the next morning before anyone else was up. They were already awake and training. The trio lingered just inside the door for a while, watching Clary and Maia finish up a practice fight. They were both very graceful, and very, very good. Magnus was almost sad when it was over.

"So what're we doing?" Alec questioned as the two girls plunked down on the couches, out of breath from their fight.

"Right now, we're not sure. This is obviously just a pit stop. We eventually need somewhere more permanent. Also, we need to find Sileo—I have some questions for him. Like how he knew that you were in trouble."

"Magic, of course," Sileo replied.

Jace clenched his jaw and looked up at the ceiling, mouthing the number one through ten, before turning around to face him. "What kind of magic?"

"My magic."

Very calmly, Jace drew a Seraph blade from his belt and pressed it to Sileo's throat. "What kind of magic?" he repeated in a reasonable tone.

"A magical connection. I chose you all, and a connection was forged."

"Okay, what did you choose us for? What are you, exactly? One of the Fey?"

"I chose you to be the defenders. And I was cast from Heaven for it. Raziel was content to watch his Shadowhunters become prejudiced and lose sight of their purpose, and I argued against him. I was almost banished when I created the Praetor Lupus, but as they too became corrupted, a new group was required. I suppose I interfered once too often in making this group, and my dear cousin had me sent into exile."

"A fallen angel. There's no such thing as a fallen angel!"

"Well obviously there is, seeing as I am one and I am standing right in front of you… okay, fine. I assume you have read the lore; go ahead and run me through with your Angel Blade. It will do nothing."

With a shrug, Jace trust the sword through Sileo's stomach. The angel's face didn't change, though, and when Jace pulled the sword out there was no injury at all. He laughed at the stunned look on Jace's face. "Now, on to my knowledge of you… I created a new rune, to locate the 18 who would be in this new order. Each of you—Simon, Jace, Clary, Kyle, Maia, Magnus, Alec, Ragnor, Will, Jem, Camille, and Isabelle were chosen. Max was to be the 13th, but no longer—therefore there are now 6 others who must join you before this order is to be completed. I see now my flaw with the Praetors was the same as Raziel's flaw with the Clave—it was too open. They weren't chosen, they were born or found, and anyone could join. With you, there will be only 18 at any given time. I have decided to call you Die Verteidiger der Menschheit."

"What… _exactly…_ do you expect 18 teenagers to do?" Maia questioned doubtfully.

"Much. With the proper training, you will all be fine warriors. And my rune had made you all immortal, until the day you die of sickness or injury. With Shadowhunters and warlocks amongst you, transportation will be simple, as will detecting demons. Now, as for training—you should all be able to figure it out. In Alexander's car is an address and a set of keys; they are to somewhere to stay. I must leave for now to do some research of my own—train, look for the others, and keep an eye on the Clave and Wolf Guardians. And pray, do be careful—I'd rather not lose any more of you just yet."

And with that he was gone, leaving them with plenty to consider.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

The house was beautiful. It was massive, with tens of spare rooms in addition to a massive living room, a library, a giant kitchen, and a training room. Each spare room had it's own bathroom too. After eating breakfast at the hotel they had all loaded back into the cars and driven here, while Clary explained Sileo's news to everyone else. They had all decided on rooms hours ago—there were doors to spare rooms lining the second and third floors, and every few doors there would be a branch hallways leading to a circular hall, similar to a cul-de-sac, with doors around the circle leading to odd-shaped but beautiful rooms. In one of these halls with 5 rooms, the twins, Camille, Isabelle, and Alec settled. The one next door, smaller with only 2 doors, was chosen by Jem and Will, and the other 5 all took rooms on the third floor of the house.

Jace and Clary currently had Jem and Will in the training room, assessing their basic hand-to-hand skills. Everyone else was relaxing—Maia and Kyle had disappeared to the second floor, Isabelle and Camille were in Cam's room, and Ragnor was sulking, so Alec and Magnus had taken off to Alec's room.

"God, I don't think it's really sunk in yet… we're _gone_. We can't go back," Alec remarked, sounding confused.

Magnus nodded. "It feels like when the social services people came for me and Ragnor—like a dream or something. Only, this is more of a nightmare."

"Yeah, and I'm worried about the others… Camille and Will seem to be coping, but Jem and Isabelle…" he shook his head. "And Ragnor's been off lately too, hasn't he?"

"I wouldn't worry about Jem—he's strong. Will will get him through it. But Rags and Iz… well, part of Ragnor's problem is he's having issues with the whole warlock thing. When we found out, I wanted to tell you _so_ badly, but he completely freaked out and made me promise not to tell anyone… Alec, I was scared of him. I honestly was. He was… crazy. And Max… didn't help."

"Maybe the training will, though… learning to use his magic and all that; might help get him to accept it better."

"Maybe… but I think there's something else. Look, has Iz said anything… odd to you lately?"

Alec thought for a moment. "I… don't think so. Why?"

"IzAndRagnorSleptTogether," Magnus said all in one breath, worried about his boyfriend's reaction.

"Iz… what?" Alec was clearly bewildered; he had no idea what Mag had said.

"Ragnor told me that he and Iz slept together. I don't think that they're talked about it yet, like, _at all_."

"Your twin did _what_ with my baby sister?" Alec asked, becoming icy calm.

"It was the night before you all disappeared; he told me when we were coming to find you. He was terrified that she was angry, because they were both drunk and he was gone when she woke up he was and going on and on about how he really love her and wants to know if it's going to work out between them… I don't even know what really happened; he was practically hysterical."

"She was _drunk_? Oh, where the bloody HELL is that bastard…" Alec snarled. He stalked to the door, yanked it open, and marched across to Ragnor's new room. "Ragnor Ember Fell, I swear to God I will fucking rip your fingernails out if you are not in front of this door within 5 seconds. 5… 4… 3…"

The door swung open and Ragnor appeared, his eyes stormy. "What the HELL Alec?"

The male stomped into the room, Magnus trailing close behind him nervously, and slammed the door shut behind him.

"Did you or did you not fuck my baby sister while she was DRUNK?" he hissed hostilely.

The expression on Ragnor's face changed at an almost comical pace from bewildered, to horrified, to shocked, and finally settling on horribly guilty and weary.

"Alec, I didn't know. I swear, I didn't know that it was her first time. I didn't know that she'd had that much to drink. I didn't know that she didn't mean it. I am a complete and total asshole and I know it and I deserve whatever you want to do to me because Isabelle deserved better than an intoxicated fuck-spree with someone she doesn't love. She deserved so, so much better."

Alec and his fury faltered, at a loss for words. Never once in his mind had it occurred to him that maybe Ragnor wasn't the bad guy, that maybe he wasn't to blame. To Alec's credit, Ragnor did have a reputation, though—half of the guys in the school had gotten in a fight with Ragnor regarding to him having with sex with either their sister or their girlfriend.

He stared Ragnor down—he was still deciding whether or not he still wanted to punch him, and Ragnor was watching, waiting for whatever was about to happen. Finally, gritting his teeth, Alec spun around and stalked out of the room without another word.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Ragnor collapsed onto the bed as Alec ad Magnus left, the door banging shut behind them. He honestly hadn't meant to hurt anyone. He'd been love with Isabelle for nearly two years now. In his own tipsy state he had mistaken the girl's drunkenness for attraction, and assumed that Isabelle loved him too—which, clearly, wasn't true. She had made it very clear last night that there was nothing to discuss and that she was not interested, and he had at least enough dignity left to accept that. God, how in the world had he managed to get everything so royally fucked up? He'd lost one of his best friends, his twin was furious with him—Magnus hadn't said anything, but he'd seen it; the other teen was absolutely pissed—and he had no means of fixing any of it.

He groaned and dragged himself off his bed—he was hungry.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

"God, I made such a fool of myself," Iz said disgustedly. "I mean, I must've seemed so fucking clingy and desperate! And he _expected_ me to be like that!"

"Hun, you were drunk. It doesn't count… Rags knows that. With everything else that's going on, it'll blow over—I promise."

"But what if it doesn't? What if I screwed us up forever?"

"Preposterous. This is Ragnor we're talking about—your future brother-in-law. The unofficial fourth Diva. My asshole brother. I give the awkwardness a week, tops," she replied matter-of-factly.

Isabelle had to smile at that. "I'm going to go see if there's any food in this place—you want anything?"

"No thanks, sweetie. I'm fine."

**A/N: Eeeeeee, Ragabelle time! ****Oooooh, Ragabelle… I adore that couple name. ****Like a Raggedy Ann princess :D So yeah... happier than the last few chapters, at least! Review, please, everyone! :D Also, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!**


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: Urgh, I am SO in panic mode… this feels like O.M last year; a week left and TONS left to do 0.0 This is soooooooo not good! I just looked, and I need about 3200 EVERY day for the rest of the month if I'm gonna make it :/ Oh, and also… Never Grow Up by Taylor Swift. LISTEN TO IT! I don't care if you don't like TayTay, just listen! I cried SO much first time I heard it… and it is totally poor Max's song D: Also… anyone got any plot ideas? Please? I'm having writers block XD**

Izzy spun down the corridor like a child, her eyes closed and her arms out, giggling. Amazingly, she didn't even stumble until halfway down the massive staircase, and even them she managed to keep her balance and continued spinning all the way to the kitchen.

There was someone else in the kitchen—she saw him the moment she twirled into the room. "Dance with me!" she giggled grabbing Ragnor's hands.

They spun all around the room, the confusion on Ragnor's face quickly switching to silliness, until they fell to the floor in a giggling, out-of-breath mess, all tangled up. "What was that all about?" Ragnor laughed, his face red from lack of oxygen.

"I have _no_ idea!" she giggled back. "It just seemed like a fun thing to do!"

"Iz, are you drunk again" he asked in a mock stern voice. Then they both grew somber as what he'd said began to sink in. Ragnor was suddenly acutely aware of their previously innocent-seeming position—their tangled limbs, their chests pressed, their faces inches apart—was _exactly_ how this whole thing had begun in the first place.

Awkwardly, he escaped and sat on the floor, dusting himself off. "Izzy… I'm so sorry. I honestly didn't mean for it to be like that…"

"You don't have anything to be sorry for. I don't expect anything from you, okay? I know you didn't mean it. I'm not going to go all clingy on you and start thinking that there's something between us. I already know that there isn't and that you don't feel that way about me, so can we just forget about it?"

"Honey, I have _everything_ to be sorry for. I ruined your first time for you. That was completely horrible and inexcusable. I was confused, I let my own feelings take over. I never thought that maybe… you wouldn't want it to be with me."

"What? Ragnor, I've _always_ wanted it to be with you. When we were kids, I would sit there and fantasize about what our perfect, fairytale first kiss would be like. And… oh shit I'm going all clingy on you, I'm sorry, I so just need to shut—mmmm"

She was cut off by Ragnor. Or, more, accurately, by his lips. He tasted even better than she remembered because this time it wasn't ruined by alcohol. She'd kissed lots of guys before, but it was never… like this. Never with someone whom she knew inside and out, someone who she loved like family, and when he pulled away, it was all too soon.

"So… you didn't mind that?" he asked, a thoughtful frown on his face. She shook her head, captivated by his voice.

"Well, then…" he swooped in and kissed her again, wrapping his arms tightly around her as her hands caressed the tan skin on his arms. "Isabelle, do you love me?"

"Yes. I love you."

"Do you really want this to be with me?"

She nodded again, her eyes connected with his.

"Well, I love you too—and I'm going to show you exactly what your first time should've been."

And then, scooping her up in his arms bridal style, he carried her up the stairs, the pair kissing and laughing the whole way.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

"OH MY GODDDD!" Magnus screamed as he ran into the house, his face red from running all the way home. "EVERYONE GET YOUR ASSES DOWN HERE!"

It had been a week since they had first moved into the house—a week filled with training and research and, yes, lots of tears. Ragnor and Isabelle were officially a couple now. Alec, Camille, and Magnus were all still watching the pair carefully, but they were slowly becoming less doubtful and more happy for them… it was hard to stay suspicious when they were so clearly in love.

And now, it was the best day of Magnus's life! "GUYS!" he yelled again, literally _skipping_ around the foyer. Soon they were all bunched around the stairs, looking bewildered. "WE'RE GOING TO SEE TOKIO HOTEL!" he screamed excitedly.

"OH MY GOD, HOW?" Isabelle screeched, flinging herself at Magnus. They two spun around, laughing hysterically.

"Some dude stopped me in the middle of the street and gave me 20 back-stage passes! I got rid of the other 8, and WE'RE GOING TO SEE THEM! It's tonight!"

"TONIGHT? WHEN tonight?"

"6 hours… the place is half an hour from here, so we gotta HURRY!"

And so began the flurry of getting ready for the concert.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Everyone looked _amazing_. Camille and Isabelle were both in miniskirts, Cam wearing a sequined cami and Iz in a sexy halter top. Their makeup was artfully smudged, and they looked like they belonged on either the red carpet or a strip club. Ragnor, wearing his usual dark eye makeup and black and green hair, had opted for black skinny jeans and a green and black skin-tight t-shirt. Magnus was similarly dressed… just, as always, more colorful. His makeup was literally an explosion of color. He has on white skinny jeans splattered with neon paint, a Tokio Hotel shirt, and a purple shimmery vest, plus green mesh glove things. And, of course, his signature spikey, multicolored hair.

Needless to say, with those four plus Will, Jem, Jace, Alec, Clary, Kyle, Simon, and Maia (Magnus and Iz had forced them all to come) they were an interesting little group to see strolling down the darkening streets of New York. Well, the sky itself was darkening… the city, not so much. They managed to arrive almost two hours early but already the venue was packed with screaming teenage girls. The screaming only got louder as the start got closer and closer. Clary and Jace had already killed two demons, and Simon a third, by the time the concert began.

The screeching reached a fever pitch as the lights darkened, then suddenly flashed back on to reveal Tokio Hotel. Bill's white-streaked lion's hair was as spikey as Magnus had ever seen it, and Tomi looked as out of place but oddly right as he always did. Georg looked gorgeous as always, his hair silky and perfect, and Gustav looked the same as always, with his shy guy aura and blond hair and band tees.

It was halfway through the concert, at the beginning of Pain of Love, when Georg froze. His muscles began to ripple and he dropped his bass. The fans noticed first and an alarmed murmuring began to ripple through the crowd. It took the rest of the bands a few moments longer, but the second they noticed they all dropped their own instruments and rushed to his side, hiding the spasming bassist from the fans sight, but almost a minute later they all stumbled back just in time to avoid the massive wolf that leaped off the stage and tore through the crowd, a cacophony of screams following his path. Maia and Kyle were the first to recover; they gathered the others and the group [pushed their way through the crowd and ran through the doors. Kyle was already in the process of transforming when they reached the cars, and everyone else piled in.

"Follow Kyle," Maia said. "Georg will head away from the city. Hopefully Kyle can catch up with him, then we can figure out what the hell to do next."

They drove for hours, following the two wolfs over miles and miles of open land. It was a wonderful time to think. Magnus and Iz were both bummed, obviously, about missing the concert—but Magnus was more worried about Georg and the band. Had the others already known? How much of the rest of the Shadow-world did they know about? Had any of the others been bitten? It seemed likely—each of the teens had been given a copy of the Codex, and it had said that lycanthropy was passed on by a bite, and new werewolves would become very violent. Considering the close quarters that the band lived in during tours, there was a slim chance of no one else having been bitten.

It wasn't until nearly dawn that Magnus was shaken out of his thoughts when the car stopped—Georg had finally curled up in a little dip in the ground and fallen asleep.

Maia slipped out of the car and jabbed him with a tranquilizer, and her and Kyle managed to get wolf-Georg back in the van.

Magnus frowned as he studied the wolf, squinting slightly. "Hey, Maia—do you see anything odd about our wolfie buddy here?"

Maia shook her head. "No… why?"

"He's… shimmering. Like, an aura. Here, look away then look back quickly."

She did, and a frown appeared. "You're right… he does have an aura."

They called the other 4, and each of them noticed the same thing. Then, Magnus's phone rang. It was a single, anonymous text: _I see you've found the 13__th__ Defender_.

"Could that be what the aura is? Something with that thing that Sileo did?"

"Hm… maybe," Kyle replied, reaching out thoughtfully to run one finger through the shimmering border. All of a sudden, it seemed to expand, and envelope the werewolf too.

He looked down at his shimmering arm in surprise, and pulled it away—the glow disappeared. Ragnor, curious now, too touched the aura, and it moved to him. Then he moved his hand and it vanished. "Well, that answers that… at least we know how to recognize the others!" he remarked.

Then, the wolf began to move. At first he just twitched, but soon he began to spasm again and before long he was back in human form, looking desperately confused.

"Georg, do you feel alright? Can you tell me what happened?" Clary quizzed in a gentle tone.

"Where's Gustav?"

"He's fine. Can you tell me what happened?"

"I wolfed… where's Gusti? He's always with me when I wolf out!"

"Is Gustav a werewolf too, Georg? Does he change too?"

The teen nodded. "Where am I?"

"We're taking you somewhere safe, okay? In the morning we can find Gustav and the band, after you get some sleep."

"Okay," Georg agreed.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

"Why is he acting so… young?" Alec asked Maia quietly, so as to not wake the male sleeping in the very back seat.

"It's a common side effect of being changed. It's mainly exhaustion and confusion; he should be fine once he gets some sleep and a proper explination. I'd like to know who changed his though—it's illegal to change a human then abandon them; you're required to find them a pack. And even then, unless they have agreed with full knowledge of the implications, you can be persecuted."

"Who changed you? Did you know them?" Magnus questioned with a sideways look at the girl.

"It was… Kyle. He himself had just been changed and we had a fight. Neither of us knew at the time but it was th first full moon since he'd been bitten. One second we were screaming at each other, and then he just changed and he… lunged at me. Bit me. Then he ran. The Praetors found him that night. He didn't tell them about me because they'd sai that only one in four bites actually change the victim—he was hoping I'd be fine. I wasn't of course and he found out first; convinced them to let him come after me. We made up."

"Wow… still, it must've been hard. Him being the one who changed you."

It was at first; I was pretty angry. We fought a lot, but I get it now… he didn't know what he was doing. It was just an accident. And okay, what the hell is it about you?" she laughed.

"What is what about me?" Magnus replied in confusion, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"You just make me want to… open up! Like, I like talking to you. It feels… safe. Seriously, you must know half of my life story by now! You, my friend, need to be a psychiatrist."

"Rant over now, hun? Got all your feeling out in the open?" he teased with an amused grin.

"Oh, shut up. I'm serious… you're magical!"

"Ewhmigawd… I'm magically delicious!"

"You are such a dork… and you can't sing. You just can't."

"Hey, that's mean! I'm a cool dork!"

"No, you're a dorky dork. A Simon-level dork. You two should seriously compete for the King of the Dorks."

"Darling, I'd win. Obviously. I'm already the king of rainbow and sparkles!"

"Yeah, but Simon _looks_ dorky… you don't."

"Shut _up_, you two!" Jace called exasperatedly. "I'm trying to sleep!"

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

"Oh my God, I cannot believe we're about to meet Tokio Hotel!" Isabelle squealed in a hushed voice, bouncing up and down a little bit.

Indeed they were on their way to meet Tokio Hotel. Georg had been much more aware when he had woken up. He'd said that he'd rather have explinations wait until the whole band was there, and they had readily agreed, so he had called the other three and arranged to meet back up with them at a small diner, so that's where they were currently headed; they being Georg, Maia, Jace, Magnus, Isabelle, and Alec. Everyone else way back at the house training and studying.

Georg seemed to be handling the whole thing amazingly well. He didn't seem panicked or angry or even upset. He was slightly worried about the band, considering the concert the night before, but other than that he appeared perfectly fine.

The Aliens, Iz and Cam, were unsurprised… they'd seen enough interviews to know that Georg was a calm, steady person. The others, though, were still waiting for some massive explosion of emotion.

It didn't come of course… at least, not from Georg.

When they got to the tiny diner, Gustav jumped up as soon as he saw Georg and rushed over to them, grabbing the older man in a hug. Georg, looking thoroughly surprised, tentatively put his arms around Gustav while Bill and Tom looked on, grinning hysterically.

"They are going to get so much crap about this later," Magnus muttered, barely hiding a grin. As the G's had their little moment, the quintet of teens went and introduced themselves to the twins. They both seemed pretty cool—very much like the people they seemed to be in interviews. Tom couldn't take his eyes off Isabelle, Magnus noticed with a silent laugh—Ragnor and Alec would just LOVE that. Not.

It wasn't until Gustav was satisfied that Georg was ok and the two had joined them, though, that things began to get interesting.

**A/N: Sooooo… any other Aliens out there? :D I adore Tokio Hotel… and Georg. Is. MINE -.- Anyways… was the Ragabelle ok? I was going for sweet and not TOO corny… kind of fluffy… did I get it right? Also, I LOVE Mags and Maia, their little banter is such fun to write :p**


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N: Yep, I ain't getting my 50,000 words :( *SadFace* Ohzzzzz wellzzzz… it was fun… and there's always next year. Sooooo… everyone looking forward to school on Monday? Cause I am! *Sarcasm. Very sarcastic sarcasm***

When Georg and Gustav joined the others, Bill and Georg did one of those guy hug things—ya know, that weird half hug, pat on the back thing that guys do. Yeah. Well, when they did… they both began to glow. No, not like 'OMG I love you so much, I am so happy to see you and that you're safe!' glow, but an actual glow. A quick glance around showed that Maia, too, had noticed it. Magnus discreetly whipped out his phone and sent her a text: _Whatcha think?_

It was only a few seconds before his phone vibrated. _Looks like they're both part of it… maybe. Maybe they're part of a different one, though… just keep an eye out for any more auras, and if you get a chance, try to like brush hands with one of them or something. This could be good… I'm thinking it'll be easier for them to deal with if they're all involved._

Magnus caught Maia's eye and nodded almost imperceptibly.

It only took the guys a few minutes to explain their half of the story. A few months ago at a meet and greet, one of the fans had gone psycho and out of no where she'd bitten Georg's hand. While trying to pull her away, Gustav too had been bitten. They gotten all bandaged up and thought nothing of it—until the next full moon, 3 days later. They had all been in Bill's hotel room after the concert, and all of a sudden they had both just… changed. They tore up the room pretty badly, but it didn't take Bill and Tom long (though it did take LOTS of alcohol) to get them to chill. They'd guessed what was up, and had managed to keep it hidden—until the previous night.

"The record is furious—they've cancelled the rest of the tour; they think Georg set a dog loose on stage then ran. We're fired. And they're trying to make _us_ refund ALL the tickets… yeah, fat chance of that," Tom added furiously. Bill reached over and layed a hand on his brother's forearm… and sure enough, they both began to shimmer. Magnus didn't even have to look at Maia, he knew that he'd seen it. This time, though, Jace noticed too.

"All right—as you guessed, Gustav and Georg are now werewolves. With time and training you will be able to control your transformations, but for now the full moon, as well as stress or anger, will cause you to morph," Maia explained. It was times like this that her training really kicked in and she turned into Maia the Wolf Guardian. "As far as training goes, you have two practical options. The first is, we could find you a pack to join. A pack is a group of werewolves, sort of a community—they often look after newly changed humans. But, Bill and Tom—the two of you aren't werewolves, therefore you could not stay with them. Or you could join us. We are… sort of a police force. We were chosen by a spell, 18 of us, to watch over the humans. There are 12 of us right now. We think that the 4 of you may also be part of it."

"Why do you think that?" Georg questioned. Bill and Tom both looked a bit shell shocked but Gustav was paying close attention, not missing a thing.

"Not always, but sometimes when two people involved in the spell come into contact, this… shimmery aura appears. I noticed it with all of you, when you came into contact with either one of us or one of each other. Here, look-" she reached out and brushed her hand against Bill's (he was sitting closest to her) and they became outlined in a soft glow.

The four guys stared, captivated. Alec, too, watched interestedly—he hadn't been there with Georg and therefore, had not actually seen it in action before.

"Honestly, I don't know what happens if you four don't join… if you'll be replaced, or what. But we won't force you to do anything."

"Do we have to get training? Or could we just walk away?" Gustav questioned her thoughtfully.

"You do have to have training. Well, technically I guess we can't make you get training, but without it you are a danger to yourselves and to everyone you come into contact with. Without training you can't control your morphing, or yourself when in wolf form, so you could very easily hurt or even kill innocent people."

While Gustav and Georg mused over this, Bill spoke up tentatively. "Are… are there other kinds of… magical beings?"

Magnus didn't miss the shocked and angry look that Tom tossed towards his brother, nor the pleading look in Bill's eyes. What was going on between those two?

"There are many. Too many to count… why?"

Wordlessly, Bill pulled off the beanie he was wearing and smoothed down his hair. And there, normally hidden by his spiked-up style or a hat, were a pair of small horns.

"Tomi has them too—they've always been there. We don't know…" his whispered voice trailed off hopelessy. He looked scared.

"Hey, don't be freaked. Those would be warlock marks- all warlocks have them… look, Magnus's cat eyes are his. He's a warlock too. Honestly, it's not that big of a deal—you can do spells, and you can chose to become immortal, if you wish—that's about it. Anyways, look… we've given you all a lot to think about, I guess… you're not leaving until tomorrow, right? We can meet here then and you can tell us what you want to do."

"Well… I don't really need an extra day. I already know," Bill spoke up. He glanced around at his bandmates, and each one of them nodded at him—though Tom didn't seem especially enthusiastic. "Okay then, we all already know. We want to join your little… thing. It's not like we have anything better to do—Tokio Hotel is over. We may as well stay together and do… whatever is it you do.

And so it was decided— there were now 16 Verteidiger.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

"Catch!" Kyle called, tossing 8 knives up in the air. Him, Maia, and both sets of twins—the four warlocks—were in the training room working on magical coordination. The room filled with light as the four boys sent their magic chasing after the knives, each going for two of them. Magnus's blue sparks cradled them like a cloud and brought them floating down to his hands, Ragnor's green lightening bolts speared the knives and sent them shooting back to him, Tom's red flames shot out to wrap around the hilts and pull them towards him, and Bill's purple wispy, wind-like magic blew them gently into his hands.

This was the first time they had all caught them—or, at least, almost caught them. One of Tom's fiery whips disintegrated about a meter away from his hand, the flames lashing back and burning his wrist before he managed to put them out. He let out a furious string of German—Magnus understood a few words here and there, "fuck" and "scheisse" among them—while Bill laughed hysterically… apparently, Tom's little rant had been funny.

Kyle glared at the pair, and then a devious smile spread over his face. Catching Magnus's eye, he nodded towards three buckets of water sitting near the door—they had been training with them earlier, using their magic to hold them steady in midair. Magnus grinned evilly as he understood what Kyle was suggesting, and effortlessly sent his blue sparks to pick up the buckets. Not one wobbled; he was easily the best of the group at magic and by now he had this totally down. Then, with a flick of his hand, he sent them zooming towards the twins K.

Tom looked up just in time to send a jet of flame out and burn two of the buckets a few feet away from him, the contents splashing out and just barely avoiding Maia, but Bill—still trying to get his breath back from his little episode—didn't see it… and consequently got drenched in freezing cold water.

This time it was everyone else rolling around on the floor trying to breathe as Bill stared, open-mouthed and incredulous, at his reflection in the mirror. He looked ridiculous—his carefully spiked hair was drooping all around his face, making him look like a sick hedgehog. His eye make-up ran horribly, giving him the impression of a melting raccoon—which wasn't helped by his colorless attire—and something about his shock reminded Magnus of a cat. The boy was just a regular zoo!

"Oh. My. God… my hair!' he screeched furiously, spinning around to face the group of kids on the floor, gasping for air. "You… you… you little iguana!"** (A/N: I. Have. No. Flipping. Clue XD XD Seriously, I was sitting here Go Diego Go for some… odd… reason… and trying to think of a good insult and someone says iguana and I'm like "OMFG YOU IGUANA!" So… yeah…)**

Suddenly Magnus stopped laughing—for a majestic purple cloud was floating around his head and when it disappeared, he had… an afro.

"You did NOT!" the glittery teen hissed dangerously, looking like a cat in the middle of a fight. He snapped his fingers, and seconds later Bill's eyelashes and eyebrows had turned a hideous moldy green.

Bill squealed furiously and threw his arms out theatrically, turning Magnus's eyes a boring muddy brown.

Zap! Bill was wearing a frilly pink ballerina outfit.

Zip! Magnus's skin turned bright neon orange.

Bang! Dreads.

Zoom! A vulture's beak.

Pop! Here comes Billa Cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail!

Meep! Magnus's ears vanished, replaced by pom-poms.

Moo! Pink, purple, and yellow polka dots covered Bill's skin.

Murp! Magnus's hair vanished, only to be replaced by a bonsai tree garden.

Sizzle! Bill had a giant beard, almost reaching the floor.

"Stop laughing!" Bill and Magnus screamed at the same time. Ragnor and Tom continued to laugh, so the two dramatic boys narrowed their eyes and their twins became enveloped in a whirlwind of glitter and rainbow paint. Needless to say, Tom and Ragnor were not amused.

Snap! A Christmas tree growing out of each of Bill's armpits.

Snipe! Tom's eight-pack was replaced by Gustav's less toned body.

None of the maniacs noticed as Kyle and Maia ducked out of the room, the door slamming shut behind them, because…

Twizzle! Magnus's voice became Justin Beiber's.

Swizzle! Bill's hair turned Oompa Loompa green and he shrunk to mini-Bill

Swirl! Tom's dreads became carrots.

Twirl! Ragnor's head became Cookie Monster.

Rawr! Neon rainbow nails for Tomi dear!

Skidoo! Caterpillar eyebrows for Bill!

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Three hours later, four hassled, fuming, sweaty, tired boys exited the room, which was still alive with their magic. Without a word they stormed off to their respective rooms.

Magnus paused at the door of his room—already, he had an Adam Lambert poster hanging on the door; he'd taken the Tokio Hotel one down because it was just weird having a poster of someone you live with—and instead on entering he switched directions and headed to Alec's room instead. He needed someone to rant to.

Alec was sitting cross-legged on his bed, holding his guitar, his eyes closed. He was singing. Magnus knew that Alec could sing; he was amazing at it. Yeah, Magnus was pretty good, but with Alec it was… instinctual. He just _knew_ how to sing, it came as naturally to him as breathing did. Unfortunately, though, Alec for some reason couldn't see how wonderful he was so Magnus could hardly ever get him to sing.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Alec swayed gently in time with the music, his fingers skipping over the strings. He loved to sing- it was an escape for him. Despite what Magnus said, he wasn't that good, but he had fun doing it. It calmed him… and after his last few months, he needed calming.

Oh yeah, ooh, ooh, yeah, yeah

You'll always have my shoulder when you cry

I'll never let go, never say goodbye

As he hummed along with the music, Alec realized that there was someone standing behind him, softly singing along. Normally Alec would've immediately quieted, but this time he didn't. Instead, he set his guitar down and took the pair of slender hands being held out to him. The two waltzed quietly, Alec's head on the taller boy's shoulder, as they sung the last few lines together:

You can count on me like one, two, three

I'll be there and I know when I need it

I can count on you like four, three, two

And you'll be there 'cause that's what friends

Are supposed to do, oh yeah, ooh, ooh

You can count on me 'cause I can count on you

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Isabelle and Ragnor smiled happily, standing at the door, watching their brothers dancing and singing like characters out of an old musical. Isabelle had come to bug Alec into coming out with them, Camille, and the Knights to the city for a party… but there was no way she was about to interrupt the most adorable moment ever. So instead, she silently shut the door and kissed Ragnor lightly. "If we ever start acting like that… eurgh, just shoot me," she said with a theatrical shudder.

"Well, sweetheart, that's not really an issue… we both know that we can't sing."

"I am offended! I'll have you know that I'm a wondrous singer!"

"Mm-hm, maybe by Miley Cyrus's standards you are…"

"Oh shut up, you."

*Whack*

*Kiss*

*Giggle*

*Door closes, then screen goes dark*

**A/N: Dang… I just realized how SUPER ooc Kyle is XD Meh, oh well. Also, with the aura thing… I couldn't find a good spot in the fic to explain it, so… it has to do with their powers and how often they come into contact with each other. Like, Magnus and Alec for example don't get it because they're so often holding hands or hugging or whatever… they're often touching each other. With Bill and Tom, they were both worried and stressed and angry with the record company, their magic was almost ready to burst out like Magnus and Ragnor's did with the fight back at the beginning of the fic, so when their hands touched the reaction happened. It's complicated :p Oh, and of course Ragnor and Georg got the aura… they were both high on magic and they'd never met before. Does that kind of make sense? Like, how I explained it? Anyways… the next chapter is going to be a Thanksgiving one :D There's one scene that I'm planning that I cannot WAIT to write… XD**

**A/N 2: Damn, I wrote this all a fucking week ago! O.o Well, there goes getting my 50,000 words. Crap was hectic and I didn't get a chance to update til now :( Also, I'm sorry to everyone who has reviewed and not gotten a message, and everyone whom I am messaging with… for some reason the PM-ing thing is broken, as is the reply to reviews. I'll catch up as soon as it's working again, I **_**promise**_**.**


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